Human monoclonal antibodies specific for glypican-3 and use thereof

ABSTRACT

Described herein is the identification of human monoclonal antibodies that bind GPC3 or heparan sulfate (HS) chains on GPC3 with high affinity. The antibodies described herein are capable of inhibiting HCC cell growth and migration. Provided are human monoclonal antibodies specific for GPC3 or HS chains on GPC3, including immunoglobulin molecules, such as IgG antibodies, as well as antibody fragments, such as single-domain VH antibodies or single chain variable fragments (scFv). Further provided are compositions including the antibodies that bind GPC3 or HS chains on GPC3, nucleic acid molecules encoding these antibodies, expression vectors comprising the nucleic acids, and isolated host cells that express the nucleic acids. Methods of treating cancer and/or inhibiting tumor growth or metastasis are also provided. Further provided are methods of detecting cancer in a subject and confirming a diagnosis of cancer in a subject.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/090,873, filedApr. 5, 2016, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 14/837,903, filed Aug. 27, 2015, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,394,364on Jul. 19, 2016, which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 14/111,860, filed Oct. 15, 2013, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,206,257on Dec. 8, 2015, which is the U.S. National Stage of InternationalApplication No. PCT/US2012/034186, filed Apr. 19, 2012, which claims thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/477,020, filed Apr. 19,2011. The above-listed applications are herein incorporated by referencein their entirety.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

This invention was made with government support under project number Z01BC010891 awarded by the National Institutes of Health, National CancerInstitute. The government has certain rights in the invention.

FIELD

This disclosure concerns antibodies specific for glypican-3 (GPC3) orheparan sulfate on GPC3, and their use for the treatment of cancer.

BACKGROUND

Liver cancer is the fifth most prevalent neoplasm in the world and thethird most common cause of cancer-related mortality (Bosch et al.,Gastroenterology 127:S5-S16, 2004; El-Serag et al., Gastroenterology132:2557-76, 2007). According to the American Cancer Society,hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for about 75 percent of livercancer cases. There are often no symptoms of liver cancer until thelater stages. Surgery is the standard treatment for liver cancer as thistype of cancer does not respond well to most chemotherapy drugs. Thus,there is an urgent need to develop new drugs with different mechanismsof action. Immunotherapy represents one new approach, but it remains achallenge primarily due to a lack of good tumor-specific targets.

The glypican family of heparan sulfate proteoglycans are anchored to thecell-surface via a covalent linkage to glycosylphosphatidylinositol(GPI). In vertebrates, six family members have been identified (GPC1-6).Glypican proteins are capable of modifying cell signaling pathways andcontribute to cellular proliferation and tissue growth. Glypican-3(GPC3) is highly expressed in HCC and some other human cancers includingmelanoma, squamous cell carcinomas of the lung, and clear cellcarcinomas of the ovary, but is not expressed in normal tissues (Ho andKim, Eur J Cancer 47(3):333-338, 2011). The GPC3 gene encodes a 70-kDaprecursor core protein, which can be cleaved by furin to generate a40-kDa amino (N) terminal fragment and a 30-kDa membrane-bound carboxyl(C) terminal fragment. The C terminus has two heparin sulfate (HS)glycan chains. The GPC3 protein is attached to the cell membrane by aglycosyl-phosphatidylinositol anchor. GPC3 binds Wnt and Hedgehogsignaling proteins (Capurro et al., Dev Cell 14:700-711, 2008; Capurroet al., Cancer Res 65:6245-6254, 2005), and is also able to bind basicgrowth factors such as fibroblast growth factor 2 through its HS glycanchains (Song et al., J Biol Chem 272:7574-7577, 1997).

Loss-of-function mutations of GPC3 cause Simpson-Golabi-Behmel syndrome,a rare X-linked overgrowth disease (Pilia et al., Nat Genet 12: 241-247,1996). GPC3-deficient mice have similar symptoms (Cano-Gauci et al., JCell Biol 146: 255-264, 1999). In transgenic mice, over-expression ofGPC3 suppresses hepatocyte proliferation and liver regeneration (Liu etal., Hepatology 52(3):1060-1067, 2010). In addition, Zittermann et al.recently showed that HCC cells infected with lentivirus expressingsoluble GPC3 (sGPC3) have a lower cell proliferation rate (Zittermann etal., Int J Cancer 126:1291-1301, 2010). This finding may indicate thatthe sGPC3 protein secreted by infected cells inhibits cell proliferationin an autocrine manner. A recent study using recombinant sGPC3(GPC3ΔGPI, amino acid residues Q25-H559) that lacks the GPI-anchoringdomain in human HEK-293 cells provided direct evidence that sGPC3protein can inhibit the growth of HCC in vitro (Feng et al., Int JCancer 128(9):2246-2247, 2011). However, the precise biologicalfunctions of GPC3 and its role in tumorigenesis remain unknown.

HS proteoglycans (HSPGs) are key molecular effectors and have multiplefunctions in cancer and angiogenesis by their ability to interact withmany important molecules. Most of the protein binding activity of HSPGsis due to the HS chains (Kim et al., J Endocrinol 209(2):139-151, 2011).The average HS chain is 50-200 repeating disaccharide units in length.Tumor metastasis is the leading cause of cancer-related death, but themolecular mechanisms underlying tumor metastasis remain poorlyunderstood. It has been widely accepted that cancer metastasis isfacilitated by the proteolytic activity of proteases such as matrixmetalloproteinases. Recently, emerging evidence shows that cancermetastasis is also accompanied by the activities of the enzymes (e.g.,heparanase) capable of cleaving HS side chains of HS proteoglycans(Arvatz et al., Cancer Metastasis Rev 30(2):253-268, 2011).

SUMMARY

Provided herein are human monoclonal antibodies that bind, for examplespecifically bind, GPC3 or HS chains on GPC3. The provided antibodiesinclude immunoglobulin molecules, such as IgG antibodies, as well asantibody fragments, such as single-domain VH antibodies or single chainvariable fragments (scFv). Further provided are compositions includingthe antibodies that bind, for example specifically, to GPC3 or HS chainson GPC3, nucleic acid molecules encoding these antibodies, expressionvectors comprising the nucleic acid molecules, and isolated host cellsthat express the nucleic acid molecules. Also provided areimmunoconjugates comprising the antibodies disclosed herein and aneffector molecule, such as a toxin.

The antibodies and compositions provided herein can be used for avariety of purposes, such as for confirming the diagnosis of a cancerthat expresses GPC3, for example HCC, in a subject. Thus, providedherein is a method of confirming the diagnosis of cancer in a subject bycontacting a sample from the subject diagnosed with cancer with a humanmonoclonal antibody that binds GPC3 or HS chains on GPC3, and detectingbinding of the antibody to the sample. An increase in binding of theantibody to the sample relative to binding of the antibody to a controlsample confirms the cancer diagnosis. In some embodiments, the methodfurther comprises contacting a second antibody that specificallyrecognizes the GPC3-specific antibody with the sample, and detectingbinding of the second antibody.

Similarly, provided herein is a method of detecting a cancer thatexpresses GPC3, such as HCC, in a subject that includes contacting asample from the subject with a human monoclonal antibody describedherein, and detecting binding of the antibody to the sample. An increasein binding of the antibody to the sample relative to a control sampledetects cancer in the subject. In some embodiments, the methods furthercomprise contacting a second antibody that specifically recognizes theGPC3-specific antibody with the sample, and detecting binding of thesecond antibody.

Further provided is a method of treating a subject with cancer, forexample HCC, by selecting a subject with a cancer that expresses GPC3and administering to the subject a therapeutically effective amount of amonoclonal antibody specific for GPC3 or HS chains on GPC3, or animmunoconjugate comprising the antibody.

In other embodiments, the cancer is treated or diagnosed byadministering a monoclonal antibody that includes amino acid residues26-33, 51-57 and 96-105 of SEQ ID NO: 2; or by administering amonoclonal antibody that includes amino acid residues 26-33, 51-58 and97-105 of SEQ ID NO: 14 and residues 27-32, 50-52 and 89-97 of SEQ IDNO: 16 or SEQ ID NO: 31. In specific embodiments, a method is providedfor inhibiting tumor growth or metastasis in a subject by selecting asubject with a cancer that expresses GPC3 and administering to thesubject a therapeutically effective amount of the compositions disclosedherein.

The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of theinvention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B show production of recombinant GPC3 proteins. (FIG. 1A)SDS-PAGE of the wild type GPC3 protein and mutant GPC3 without the HSchains. (FIG. 1B) Western blot analysis. wt=wild-type sGPC3-hFc;mu=mutant sGPC3(AA)-hFc without HS chain.

FIG. 2 shows a sequence alignment of clone HN3 VH with known human VHfrom public databases (SEQ ID NOs: 2-10).

FIG. 3A is a gel showing SDS-PAGE analysis of HN3-hFc. Lane 1, 5 μgnon-reducing; Lane 2, 5 μg reducing. FIG. 3B is a series of flowcytometry plots showing that HN3 binds GPC3-positive G1 cells, but notGPC3-negative A431 cells. HN3 also binds a panel of HCC cell lines(Hep3B, HepG2, Huh-1, Huh-4, Huh7 and SK-Hep1).

FIGS. 4A and 4B are graphs showing high binding affinity of HN3 forGPC3. (FIG. 4A) ELISA assay using purified GPC3 proteins coated on96-well plate. (FIG. 4B) Flow cytometry on the G1 cell line.

FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram of the primary structures of variousrecombinant GPC3 proteins. His, six histidine tag; hFc, human IgG1 Fctag; HS, heparan sulfate glycosaminoglycan. IAB-hFc was used as a hFcisotype control. FIG. 5B is a graph showing results of a phage ELISAdemonstrating that clone HN3 binds to the full-length GPC3 independentof its tags (Fc or His), but not the GPC3 fragments (N- or C-terminusalone).

FIGS. 6A-6D are a series of figures showing HN3 inhibits HCC cellproliferation in vitro. (FIG. 6A) Immunoblot analysis of GPC3 proteinlevels in Hep3B cell line 72 h after exposure to lentivirus-transfectedGPC3-targeting shRNA or scrambled (scr) shRNA. Lentiviral GPC3-targetedshRNAs sh-1 and sh-2 efficiently inhibited GPC3 protein expression.(FIG. 6B) and (FIG. 6C) HCC cells treated with GPC3-shRNA or scrambledshRNA (scr) were evaluated by WST-8 assay. (FIG. 6D) Four HCC cell lines(Huh-7, Huh-4, Hep3B and A431) were treated with the HN3 human mAb orHN125 for 5 days. Cell proliferation was measured by WST-8 method. HN125was used as an irrelevant hFc control.

FIGS. 7A-7D are a series of figures showing HN3 induced cell cyclearrest, apoptosis and inactivation of yap. (FIG. 7A) Cell cycleanalysis. Cells were treated with HN3 or HN125 for 48 hours, cell cycleprofiling was performed by FACS. p<0.05 compared to untreated cell(media). (FIG. 7B) Apoptosis analysis. Cells were treated with HN3 orIAB-hFc for 72 hours, followed by Annexin V/PI dual staining. p<0.05compared to untreated cells. (FIG. 7C) HN3 induced PARP cleavage inHep3B cells. Cells were incubated with HN3 or IAB-hFc for the indicatedtime. Lanel, HN3; Lane 2, HN125; Lane 3, media only. HN125 was used asan irrelevant hFc control. (FIG. 7D) Western blot showing inactivationof yap and down-regulation of cyclin D1 in HN3-treated HCC cells invitro. Ctrl=HN125

FIG. 8A is a Western blot of purified recombinant GPC3 proteins.GPC3-hFc, GPC3-human Fc fusion; GPC3(AA)-hFc, GPC3-human Fc fusionwithout the HS chains. FIG. 8B is a graph showing results of an ELISA.One μg of the purified recombinant proteins were coated on 96-wellplates and probed with the 1G12 anti-GPC3 mAb. rFc-GPC3, rabbit Fc-GPC3fusion.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are graphs showing enrichment of phage Fvs against GPC3.(FIG. 9A) Output colonies were counted after each round of panning with2×10¹² input phage. (FIG. 9B) Each phage clone was tested againstdifferent sources of GPC3s by ELISA (bars from left to right for eachclone are GPC3, GPC3(NSO), rFc-GPC3, rFc-MSLN and BSA). rFc-MSLN (rabbitFc control) and BSA were used as negative controls.

FIG. 10 shows an alignment of the amino acid sequence of selected scFvsand the HS20 variable heavy (SEQ ID NO: 14) and light (SEQ ID NO: 16)domains. CDRs are shaded. Shown are the sequences of ABQ50854.1 (apeptide mimotope of the group B Streptococcus type III polysaccharide;SEQ ID NO: 17); ADP21081.1 (canine dendritic cells; SEQ ID NO: 18);ABD59019.1 (TREM-like transcript-1; SEQ ID NO: 19) and ABQ50855.1 (apeptide mimotope of the group B Streptococcus type III polysaccharide;SEQ ID NO: 20). CDR regions were determined according to Kabat(underlined) and IMGT (shaded).

FIG. 11A is a Western blot showing binding of HS20 on recombinant andnative GPC3 in cell lysates. FIG. 11B is a graph showing results of flowcytometric analysis of HS20 on cells. Cells (A431, G1 and HepG2) wereprobed with HS20 with various concentrations. The binding was visualizedwith a goat anti-human IgG PE-conjugated secondary antibody by flowcytometry.

FIG. 12 is a series of images showing immunohistochemical analysis ofHS20 in HCC tissues.

FIGS. 13A-13D are figures showing the binding properties of H520. (FIG.13A) The HS20 mAb was tested for its binding to GPC3-hFc, GPC3(AA)-hFcand GPC3 alone. 1G12 was used as a positive control. 1AB-hFc (the humanFc control) and BSA were used as negative controls. (FIG. 13B) Bindingspecificity of HS20 on GPC3 and HS alone. HS20 binds the GPC3 at least1000-fold stronger than the HS alone. (FIG. 13C) Immunoprecipitation. G1(A431.GPC3+) cells or Hep3B cells were lysed and pulled down by HS20 orisotype control and then detected by the mouse anti-GPC3 antibody(left). The arrow indicates the GPC3 core protein and the bracketindicates glycosylated GPC3. GPC3 knock-down cells were also examined bythe same strategy (right). (FIG. 13D) Competition ELISA. The indicatedconcentration of heparan sulfate or heparin was pre-incubated with HS20mAb (5 μg/ml). ELISA assay was then performed to detect HS20/GPC3binding affinity.

FIGS. 14A-14E are a series of figures that show HS20 inhibited cellmigration in HCC cells by disturbing the interaction between GPC3 andWnt3a. (FIG. 14A) Hep3B cells and Huh-4 cells were treated with 100μg/ml HS20 or isotype control. The images show the results of the woundhealing assay using Hep3B (top) and Huh4 (bottom) cells. (FIG. 14B)Graphs showing a dose response (left) and time course (right) of woundhealing assays on Hep3B cells. Data are represented as the percentage ofopen wound area, as mean±s.d. of three replicates (* p<0.05). (FIG. 14C)Hep3B cells were pretreated with 50 μg/ml IgG control or HS20 for 3 daysand GPC3 was then immunoprecipitated with mouse anti-GPC3 antibody. Theinteraction between GPC3 and Wnt3a was detected. (FIG. 14D) Hep3B cellswere pretreated with 50 μg/ml IgG control or HS20 for 3 days and RT-PCRwas performed to measure the RNA expression levels of the indicatedWnt-target genes. (FIG. 14E) Hep3B cells were pretreated with 50 μg/mlIgG control or HS20 for 3 days and then β-catenin expression wasmeasured by Western blot.

FIG. 15A shows SDS-PAGE of HS20 wild-type (Wt) mAb treated with (+) orwithout (−) the endoglycosidase PNGase. Five μg of purified protein wasused for each sample. NR=non-reduced; R=reduced. FIG. 15B is a Westernblot for HS20 Wt mAb treated with (+) or without (−) PNGase. HS20 lightchain was detected using goat anti-human kappa chain antibody. FIG. 15Cshows the HS20 V_(L) sequence (SEQ ID NO: 16) in comparison with theV_(L) of ABD59019.1 (TREM-like transcript-1; SEQ ID NO: 19) andABQ50855.1 (a peptide mimotope of the group B Streptococcus type IIIpolysaccharide; SEQ ID NO: 20). The HS20 mutant (Mt) was generated bymutating an asparagine (N) residue to an alanine (A) residue in CDR2 ofthe V_(L) domain.

FIG. 16A shows SDS-PAGE of HS20 Wt and HS20 Mt under reducing (R) andnon-reducing (NR) conditions. Five μg of purified protein was used foreach sample. M=molecular weight marker. FIG. 16B is a graph showing theresults of an ELISA to evaluate binding affinity of HS20 Wt and HS20 Mtfor GPC3. The ELISA plate was coated with 5 μg/mL GPC3-hFc orGPC3(ΔHS)-hFc and incubated with 1 μg/mL HS20 Wt or HS20 Mt. Goatanti-human kappa chain-HRP was used as the secondary antibody at adilution of 1:5000. FIG. 16C is a Western blot showing binding of HS20Wt or HS20 Mt to extracts of a variety of cell lines (30 μg of totalprotein for each sample). Five μg/ml of HS20 Wt or HS20 Mt was used asthe primary antibody and goat anti-human kappa chain-HRP was used as thesecondary antibody at a dilution of 1:5000.

FIGS. 17A-17C are a series of figures showing that HS20 inhibits tumorgrowth in an HCC xenograft mouse model. (FIG. 17A) 10 million HepG2cells were implanted to nude mice by subcutaneous injection. When thetumor reached a volume of 100 mm³, mice were treated with 20 mg/kg HS20by intravenous injection twice a week. Tumor volume (V) was quantifiedusing the formula V=ab²/2 (where a and b represent tumor length andwidth, respectively). (FIG. 17B) Detection of the interaction betweenGPC3 and Wnt3A by co-IP assay with the tumor tissues. (FIG. 17C) RT-PCRto detect the downstream genes of Wnt signaling.

FIGS. 18A-18B show HN3 inhibits tumor growth in mice using Huh-7 cell asxenograft. (FIG. 18A) Graph showing the results using the HCC xenograftmodel in nude mice. Arrows indicate injection of HN3 (60 mg/kg). (FIG.18B) Inactivation of yap and down-regulation of cyclin D1 in HN3-treatedHCC tumors in mice. Ctrl: vehicle.

FIG. 19A is a schematic of the HN3(VH)-PE38 immunotoxin. To make ananti-GPC3 immunotoxin, the HN3 VH was fused to a truncated PE38. FIG.19B is a graph showing that the HN3(VH)-PE38 immunotoxin protein elutedfrom a mono-Q column was run over a TSK gel filtration size-exclusioncolumn. FIG. 19C shows SDS-PAGE analysis. Fractions of the HN3(VH)-PE38immunotoxin collected from a TSK column were loaded on the gel.

FIG. 20 is a series of graphs showing inhibition of cell proliferationon HCC cell lines by the HN3(VH)-PE38 immunotoxin. Cancer cellsincubated with various concentrations of the anti-GPC3 immunotoxinscontaining HN3(VH)-PE38 or BL22 for 72 hr. Cell proliferation wasdetermined by a WST assay. The dashed line indicates 50% inhibition ofcell proliferation, which is the toxin concentration that reduced cellviability by 50% compared with the cells that were not treated with thetoxin. BL22: an immunotoxin specific for CD22 used as a nonspecificcontrol.

FIG. 21 is a graph showing anti-tumor activity of the HN3(VH)-PE38immunotoxin in the xenograft model. BALB/c nu/nu mice were s.c.inoculated with 3 million G1 cells. When tumors reached an averagevolume of 100 mm³, mice were administered 0.4 mg/kg of the HN3(VH)-PE38immunotoxin every other day for about one week. Arrow: HN3(VH)-PE38injection. Quantification of tumor size by formula V=ab²/2 (where a andb represent tumor length and width, respectively). * p<0.05.

SEQUENCE LISTING

The nucleic and amino acid sequences listed in the accompanying sequencelisting are shown using standard letter abbreviations for nucleotidebases, and three letter code for amino acids, as defined in 37 C.F.R.1.822. Only one strand of each nucleic acid sequence is shown, but thecomplementary strand is understood as included by any reference to thedisplayed strand. The Sequence Listing is submitted as an ASCII textfile, created on Nov. 20, 2017, 38.5 KB, which is incorporated byreference herein. In the accompanying sequence listing:

SEQ ID NO: 1 is the nucleotide sequence of single domain (VH) antibodyHN3.

SEQ ID NO: 2 is the amino acid sequence of single domain (VH) antibodyHN3.

SEQ ID NOs: 3-10 are amino acid sequences of the VH domain of humanantibodies.

SEQ ID NO: 11 is the nucleotide sequence of HS20 scFv.

SEQ ID NO: 12 is the amino acid sequence of HS20 scFv.

SEQ ID NO: 13 is the nucleotide sequence of the VH domain of HS20 (Wt).

SEQ ID NO: 14 is the amino acid sequence of the VH domain of HS20 (Wt).

SEQ ID NO: 15 is the nucleotide sequence of the VL domain of HS20 (Wt).

SEQ ID NO: 16 is the amino acid sequence of the VL domain of HS20 (Wt).

SEQ ID NO: 17 is the amino acid sequence of a VH domain that binds apeptide mimotope of the group B Streptococcus type III polysaccharide(GENBANK™ Accession No. ABQ50854.1).

SEQ ID NO: 18 is the amino acid sequence of a VH domain that bindscanine dendritic cells (GENBANK™ Accession No. ADP21081.1).

SEQ ID NO: 19 is the amino acid sequence of the VL domain of ananti-TREM-like transcript-1 antibody (GENBANK™ Accession No.ABD59019.1).

SEQ ID NO: 20 is the amino acid sequence of a VL domain that binds apeptide mimotope of the group B Streptococcus type III polysaccharide(GENBANK™ Accession No. ABQ50855.1).

SEQ ID NOs: 21 and 22 are primer sequences.

SEQ ID NO: 23 is the amino acid sequence of PE-LR.

SEQ ID NO: 24 is the amino acid sequence of PE-LR/6×.

SEQ ID NO: 25 is the amino acid sequence of PE with reducedimmunogenicity.

SEQ ID NO: 26 is the amino acid sequence of PE-LR/8M.

SEQ ID NO: 27 is the amino acid sequence of PE38.

SEQ ID NO: 28 is the nucleotide sequence of HN3-PE38.

SEQ ID NO: 29 is the amino acid sequence of HN3-PE38.

SEQ ID NO: 30 is the nucleotide sequence of the VL domain of HS20 Mt.

SEQ ID NO: 31 is the amino acid sequence of the VL domain of HS20 Mt.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Abbreviations

BSA bovine serum albumin

CDR complementarity determining region

cfu colony forming units

CTL cytotoxic T lymphocyte

ECM extracellular matrix

ELISA enzyme linked immunosorbent assay

FACS fluorescence activated cell sorting

GPC3 glypican-3

HCC hepatocellular carcinoma

hFc human Fc

HS heparin sulfate

HSPG heparan sulfate proteoglycan

Ig immunoglobulin

mAb monoclonal antibody

PBS phosphate buffered saline

PE Pseudomonas exotoxin

pfu plaque forming units

rFc rabbit Fc

sGPC3 soluble glypican-3

II. Terms and Methods

Unless otherwise noted, technical terms are used according toconventional usage. Definitions of common terms in molecular biology maybe found in Benjamin Lewin, Genes V, published by Oxford UniversityPress, 1994 (ISBN 0-19-854287-9); Kendrew et al. (eds.), TheEncyclopedia of Molecular Biology, published by Blackwell Science Ltd.,1994 (ISBN 0-632-02182-9); and Robert A. Meyers (ed.), Molecular Biologyand Biotechnology: a Comprehensive Desk Reference, published by VCHPublishers, Inc., 1995 (ISBN 1-56081-569-8).

In order to facilitate review of the various embodiments of thedisclosure, the following explanations of specific terms are provided:

Antibody: A polypeptide ligand comprising at least a light chain orheavy chain immunoglobulin variable region which recognizes and binds(such as specifically recognizes and specifically binds) an epitope ofan antigen, such as GPC3, or a fragment thereof. Immunoglobulinmolecules are composed of a heavy and a light chain, each of which has avariable region, termed the variable heavy (V_(H)) region and thevariable light (V_(L)) region. Together, the V_(H) region and the V_(L)region are responsible for binding the antigen recognized by theantibody.

Antibodies include intact immunoglobulins and the variants and portionsof antibodies well known in the art, such as single-domain antibodies(e.g. VH domain antibodies), Fab fragments, Fab′ fragments, F(ab)′₂fragments, single chain Fv proteins (“scFv”), and disulfide stabilizedFv proteins (“dsFv”). A scFv protein is a fusion protein in which alight chain variable region of an immunoglobulin and a heavy chainvariable region of an immunoglobulin are bound by a linker, while indsFvs, the chains have been mutated to introduce a disulfide bond tostabilize the association of the chains. The term also includesgenetically engineered forms such as chimeric antibodies (for example,humanized murine antibodies), heteroconjugate antibodies (such as,bispecific antibodies). See also, Pierce Catalog and Handbook, 1994-1995(Pierce Chemical Co., Rockford, Ill.); Kuby, J., Immunology, 3^(rd) Ed.,W. H. Freeman & Co., New York, 1997.

Typically, a naturally occurring immunoglobulin has heavy (H) chains andlight (L) chains interconnected by disulfide bonds. There are two typesof light chain, lambda (λ) and kappa (k). There are five main heavychain classes (or isotypes) which determine the functional activity ofan antibody molecule: IgM, IgD, IgG, IgA and IgE.

Each heavy and light chain contains a constant region and a variableregion, (the regions are also known as “domains”). In combination, theheavy and the light chain variable regions specifically bind theantigen. Light and heavy chain variable regions contain a “framework”region interrupted by three hypervariable regions, also called“complementarity-determining regions” or “CDRs.” The extent of theframework region and CDRs has been defined according to Kabat et al.(see, Kabat et al., Sequences of Proteins of Immunological Interest,U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1991) and ImMunoGeneTicsdatabase (IMGT) (see, Lefranc, Nucleic Acids Res 29:207-9, 2001; andhttp://imgt.cines.fr/IMGT_vquest/vquest?livret=0&Option=humanIg). TheKabat database is maintained online(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/igblast/). The sequences of the frameworkregions of different light or heavy chains are relatively conservedwithin a species, such as humans. The framework region of an antibody,that is the combined framework regions of the constituent light andheavy chains, serves to position and align the CDRs in three-dimensionalspace.

The CDRs are primarily responsible for binding to an epitope of anantigen. The CDRs of each chain are typically referred to as CDR1, CDR2,and CDR3, numbered sequentially starting from the N-terminus, and arealso typically identified by the chain in which the particular CDR islocated. Thus, a V_(H) CDR3 (or H-CDR3) is located in the variabledomain of the heavy chain of the antibody in which it is found, whereasa V_(L) CDR1 (or L-CDR1) is the CDR1 from the variable domain of thelight chain of the antibody in which it is found. An antibody that bindsGPC3, for example, will have a specific V_(H) region and the V_(L)region sequence, and thus specific CDR sequences. Antibodies withdifferent specificities (i.e. different combining sites for differentantigens) have different CDRs. Although it is the CDRs that vary fromantibody to antibody, only a limited number of amino acid positionswithin the CDRs are directly involved in antigen binding. Thesepositions within the CDRs are called specificity determining residues(SDRs).

References to “V_(H)” or “VH” refer to the variable region of animmunoglobulin heavy chain, including that of an Fv, scFv, dsFv or Fab.References to “V_(L)” or “VL” refer to the variable region of animmunoglobulin light chain, including that of an Fv, scFv, dsFv or Fab.

A “monoclonal antibody” is an antibody produced by a single clone ofB-lymphocytes or by a cell into which the light and/or heavy chain genesof a single antibody have been transfected. Monoclonal antibodies areproduced by methods known to those of skill in the art, for instance bymaking hybrid antibody-forming cells from a fusion of myeloma cells withimmune spleen cells. Monoclonal antibodies include humanized monoclonalantibodies.

A “chimeric antibody” has framework residues from one species, such ashuman, and CDRs (which generally confer antigen binding) from anotherspecies, such as a murine antibody that specifically binds GPC3.

A “human” antibody (also called a “fully human” antibody) is an antibodythat includes human framework regions and all of the CDRs from a humanimmunoglobulin. In one example, the framework and the CDRs are from thesame originating human heavy and/or light chain amino acid sequence.However, frameworks from one human antibody can be engineered to includeCDRs from a different human antibody. A “humanized” immunoglobulin is animmunoglobulin including a human framework region and one or more CDRsfrom a non-human (for example a mouse, rat, or synthetic)immunoglobulin. The non-human immunoglobulin providing the CDRs istermed a “donor,” and the human immunoglobulin providing the frameworkis termed an “acceptor.” In one embodiment, all the CDRs are from thedonor immunoglobulin in a humanized immunoglobulin. Constant regionsneed not be present, but if they are, they must be substantiallyidentical to human immunoglobulin constant regions, i.e., at least about85-90%, such as about 95% or more identical. Hence, all parts of ahumanized immunoglobulin, except possibly the CDRs, are substantiallyidentical to corresponding parts of natural human immunoglobulinsequences. A “humanized antibody” is an antibody comprising a humanizedlight chain and a humanized heavy chain immunoglobulin. A humanizedantibody binds to the same antigen as the donor antibody that providesthe CDRs. The acceptor framework of a humanized immunoglobulin orantibody may have a limited number of substitutions by amino acids takenfrom the donor framework. Humanized or other monoclonal antibodies canhave additional conservative amino acid substitutions which havesubstantially no effect on antigen binding or other immunoglobulinfunctions. Humanized immunoglobulins can be constructed by means ofgenetic engineering (see for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,585,089).

Binding affinity: Affinity of an antibody for an antigen. In oneembodiment, affinity is calculated by a modification of the Scatchardmethod described by Frankel et al., Mol. Immunol., 16:101-106, 1979. Inanother embodiment, binding affinity is measured by an antigen/antibodydissociation rate. In another embodiment, a high binding affinity ismeasured by a competition radioimmunoassay. In another embodiment,binding affinity is measured by ELISA. An antibody that “specificallybinds” an antigen (such as GPC3) is an antibody that binds the antigenwith high affinity and does not significantly bind other unrelatedantigens.

Chemotherapeutic agents: Any chemical agent with therapeutic usefulnessin the treatment of diseases characterized by abnormal cell growth. Suchdiseases include tumors, neoplasms, and cancer as well as diseasescharacterized by hyperplastic growth such as psoriasis. In oneembodiment, a chemotherapeutic agent is an agent of use in treatingliver cancer, such as HCC, or another tumor. In one embodiment, achemotherapeutic agent is a radioactive compound. One of skill in theart can readily identify a chemotherapeutic agent of use (see forexample, Slapak and Kufe, Principles of Cancer Therapy, Chapter 86 inHarrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 14th edition; Perry et al.,Chemotherapy, Ch. 17 in Abeloff, Clinical Oncology 2^(nd) ed., © 2000Churchill Livingstone, Inc; Baltzer, L., Berkery, R. (eds.): OncologyPocket Guide to Chemotherapy, 2nd ed. St. Louis, Mosby-Year Book, 1995;Fischer, D. S., Knobf, M. F., Durivage, H. J. (eds): The CancerChemotherapy Handbook, 4th ed. St. Louis, Mosby-Year Book, 1993).Combination chemotherapy is the administration of more than one agent totreat cancer. One example is the administration of an antibody thatbinds GPC3 (or HS chain on GPC3) used in combination with a radioactiveor chemical compound.

Conservative variants: “Conservative” amino acid substitutions are thosesubstitutions that do not substantially affect or decrease the affinityof a protein, such as an antibody to GPC3. For example, a human antibodythat specifically binds GPC3 can include at most about 1, at most about2, at most about 5, and most about 10, or at most about 15 conservativesubstitutions and specifically bind the GPC3 polypeptide. The termconservative variation also includes the use of a substituted amino acidin place of an unsubstituted parent amino acid, provided that antibodyspecifically binds GPC3. Non-conservative substitutions are those thatreduce an activity or binding to GPC3.

Conservative amino acid substitution tables providing functionallysimilar amino acids are well known to one of ordinary skill in the art.The following six groups are examples of amino acids that are consideredto be conservative substitutions for one another:

1) Alanine (A), Serine (S), Threonine (T);

2) Aspartic acid (D), Glutamic acid (E);

3) Asparagine (N), Glutamine (Q);

4) Arginine (R), Lysine (K);

5) Isoleucine (I), Leucine (L), Methionine (M), Valine (V); and

6) Phenylalanine (F), Tyrosine (Y), Tryptophan (W).

Complementarity determining region (CDR): Amino acid sequences whichtogether define the binding affinity and specificity of the natural Fvregion of a native Ig binding site. The light and heavy chains of an Igeach have three CDRs, designated L-CDR1, L-CDR2, L-CDR3 and H-CDR1,H-CDR2, H-CDR3, respectively.

Contacting: Placement in direct physical association; includes both insolid and liquid form.

Cytotoxicity: The toxicity of a molecule, such as an immunotoxin, to thecells intended to be targeted, as opposed to the cells of the rest of anorganism. In one embodiment, in contrast, the term “toxicity” refers totoxicity of an immunotoxin to cells other than those that are the cellsintended to be targeted by the targeting moiety of the immunotoxin, andthe term “animal toxicity” refers to toxicity of the immunotoxin to ananimal by toxicity of the immunotoxin to cells other than those intendedto be targeted by the immunotoxin.

Degenerate variant: In the context of the present disclosure, a“degenerate variant” refers to a polynucleotide encoding a GPC3polypeptide or an antibody that binds GPC3 (or HS chains on GPC3) thatincludes a sequence that is degenerate as a result of the genetic code.There are 20 natural amino acids, most of which are specified by morethan one codon. Therefore, all degenerate nucleotide sequences areincluded as long as the amino acid sequence of the GPC3 polypeptide orantibody that binds GPC3 encoded by the nucleotide sequence isunchanged.

Diagnostic: Identifying the presence or nature of a pathologiccondition, such as, but not limited to, liver cancer, ovarian cancer,melanoma or lung cancer. Diagnostic methods differ in their sensitivityand specificity. The “sensitivity” of a diagnostic assay is thepercentage of diseased individuals who test positive (percent of truepositives). The “specificity” of a diagnostic assay is one minus thefalse positive rate, where the false positive rate is defined as theproportion of those without the disease who test positive. While aparticular diagnostic method may not provide a definitive diagnosis of acondition, it suffices if the method provides a positive indication thataids in diagnosis. “Prognostic” is the probability of development (e.g.,severity) of a pathologic condition, such as liver cancer or metastasis.

Effector molecule: The portion of a chimeric molecule that is intendedto have a desired effect on a cell to which the chimeric molecule istargeted. Effector molecule is also known as an effector moiety (EM),therapeutic agent, or diagnostic agent, or similar terms.

Therapeutic agents include such compounds as nucleic acids, proteins,peptides, amino acids or derivatives, glycoproteins, radioisotopes,lipids, carbohydrates, or recombinant viruses. Nucleic acid therapeuticand diagnostic moieties include antisense nucleic acids, derivatizedoligonucleotides for covalent cross-linking with single or duplex DNA,and triplex forming oligonucleotides. Alternatively, the molecule linkedto a targeting moiety, such as an anti-GPC3 antibody, may be anencapsulation system, such as a liposome or micelle that contains atherapeutic composition such as a drug, a nucleic acid (such as anantisense nucleic acid), or another therapeutic moiety that can beshielded from direct exposure to the circulatory system. Means ofpreparing liposomes attached to antibodies are well known to those ofskill in the art (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,735; and Connoret al., Pharm. Ther. 28:341-365, 1985). Diagnostic agents or moietiesinclude radioisotopes and other detectable labels. Detectable labelsuseful for such purposes are also well known in the art, and includeradioactive isotopes such as ³⁵S, ¹¹C, ¹³N, ¹⁵O, ¹⁸F, ¹⁹F, ^(99m)Tc,¹³¹I, ³H, ¹⁴C, ¹⁵N, ⁹⁰Y, ⁹⁹Tc, ¹¹¹In and ¹²⁵I, fluorophores,chemiluminescent agents, and enzymes.

Epitope: An antigenic determinant. These are particular chemical groupsor peptide sequences on a molecule that are antigenic, i.e. that elicita specific immune response. An antibody specifically binds a particularantigenic epitope on a polypeptide, such as GPC3.

Framework region: Amino acid sequences interposed between CDRs.Framework regions include variable light and variable heavy frameworkregions. The framework regions serve to hold the CDRs in an appropriateorientation for antigen binding.

Glypican-3 (GPC3): A member of the glypican family of heparan sulfate(HS) proteoglycans that are attached to the cell surface by aglycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor (Filmus and Selleck, J Clin Invest108:497-501, 2001). The GPC3 gene codes for a core protein ofapproximately 70 kD, which can be cleaved by furin to produce anN-terminal 40 kD fragment and a C-terminal 30 kD fragment. Two HS chainsare attached on the C-terminal portion of GPC3. GPC3 and other glypicanfamily proteins play a role in cell division and cell growth regulation.GPC3 is highly expressed in HCC and some other human cancers includingmelanoma, squamous cell carcinomas of the lung, and clear cellcarcinomas of the ovary (Ho and Kim, Eur J Cancer 47(3):333-338, 2011),but is not expressed in normal tissues. GPC3 is also known as SGB, DGSX,MXR7, SDYS, SGBS, OCI-5, SGBS1 and GTR2-2.

There are four known isoforms of human GPC3 (isoforms 1-4). Nucleic acidand amino acid sequences of the four isoforms of GPC3 are known,including GENBANK™ Accession numbers: NM_001164617 and NP_001158089(isoform 1); NM_004484 and NP_004475 (isoform 2); NM_001164618 andNP_001158090 (isoform 3); and NM_001164619 and NP_001158091 (isoform 4).In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the antibodies disclosedherein bind one or more of the four human GPC3 isoforms, or aconservative variant thereof.

HAMA (human anti-murine antibody) response: An immune response in ahuman subject to the variable and constant regions of a murine antibodythat has been administered to the patient. Repeated antibodyadministration may lead to an increased rate of clearance of theantibody from the patient's serum and may also elicit allergic reactionsin the patient.

Heparan sulfate (HS): A member of the glycosaminoglycan family ofcarbohydrates that is very closely related in structure to heparin. HSis a linear polysaccharide found in all animal tissues. HS is found as aproteoglycan (PG) in which two or three HS chains are attached in closeproximity to cell surface or extracellular matrix proteins. It is inthis form that HS binds to a variety of protein ligands and regulates awide variety of biological activities, including developmentalprocesses, angiogenesis, blood coagulation and tumor metastasis.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC): A primary malignancy of the livertypically occurring in patients with inflammatory livers resulting fromviral hepatitis, liver toxins or hepatic cirrhosis (often caused byalcoholism). HCC is also called malignant hepatoma.

Host cells: Cells in which a vector can be propagated and its DNAexpressed. The cell may be prokaryotic or eukaryotic. The term alsoincludes any progeny of the subject host cell. It is understood that allprogeny may not be identical to the parental cell since there may bemutations that occur during replication. However, such progeny areincluded when the term “host cell” is used.

Immune response: A response of a cell of the immune system, such as a Bcell, T cell, or monocyte, to a stimulus. In one embodiment, theresponse is specific for a particular antigen (an “antigen-specificresponse”). In one embodiment, an immune response is a T cell response,such as a CD4⁺ response or a CD8⁺ response. In another embodiment, theresponse is a B cell response, and results in the production of specificantibodies.

Immunoconjugate: A covalent linkage of an effector molecule to anantibody or functional fragment thereof. The effector molecule can be adetectable label or an immunotoxin. Specific, non-limiting examples oftoxins include, but are not limited to, abrin, ricin, Pseudomonasexotoxin (PE, such as PE35, PE37, PE38, and PE40), diphtheria toxin(DT), botulinum toxin, or modified toxins thereof, or other toxic agentsthat directly or indirectly inhibit cell growth or kill cells. Forexample, PE and DT are highly toxic compounds that typically bring aboutdeath through liver toxicity. PE and DT, however, can be modified into aform for use as an immunotoxin by removing the native targetingcomponent of the toxin (such as the domain Ia of PE and the B chain ofDT) and replacing it with a different targeting moiety, such as anantibody. A “chimeric molecule” is a targeting moiety, such as a ligandor an antibody, conjugated (coupled) to an effector molecule. The term“conjugated” or “linked” refers to making two polypeptides into onecontiguous polypeptide molecule. In one embodiment, an antibody isjoined to an effector molecule. In another embodiment, an antibodyjoined to an effector molecule is further joined to a lipid or othermolecule to a protein or peptide to increase its half-life in the body.The linkage can be either by chemical or recombinant means. In oneembodiment, the linkage is chemical, wherein a reaction between theantibody moiety and the effector molecule has produced a covalent bondformed between the two molecules to form one molecule. A peptide linker(short peptide sequence) can optionally be included between the antibodyand the effector molecule. Because immunoconjugates were originallyprepared from two molecules with separate functionalities, such as anantibody and an effector molecule, they are also sometimes referred toas “chimeric molecules.” The term “chimeric molecule,” as used herein,therefore refers to a targeting moiety, such as a ligand or an antibody,conjugated (coupled) to an effector molecule.

Isolated: An “isolated” biological component, such as a nucleic acid,protein (including antibodies) or organelle, has been substantiallyseparated or purified away from other biological components in theenvironment (such as a cell) in which the component naturally occurs,i.e., other chromosomal and extra-chromosomal DNA and RNA, proteins andorganelles. Nucleic acids and proteins that have been “isolated” includenucleic acids and proteins purified by standard purification methods.The term also embraces nucleic acids and proteins prepared byrecombinant expression in a host cell as well as chemically synthesizednucleic acids.

Label: A detectable compound or composition that is conjugated directlyor indirectly to another molecule, such as an antibody or a protein, tofacilitate detection of that molecule. Specific, non-limiting examplesof labels include fluorescent tags, enzymatic linkages, and radioactiveisotopes. In one example, a “labeled antibody” refers to incorporationof another molecule in the antibody. For example, the label is adetectable marker, such as the incorporation of a radiolabeled aminoacid or attachment to a polypeptide of biotinyl moieties that can bedetected by marked avidin (for example, streptavidin containing afluorescent marker or enzymatic activity that can be detected by opticalor colorimetric methods). Various methods of labeling polypeptides andglycoproteins are known in the art and may be used. Examples of labelsfor polypeptides include, but are not limited to, the following:radioisotopes or radionucleotides (such as ³⁵S, ¹¹C, ¹³N, ¹⁵O, ¹⁸F, ¹⁹F,^(99m)Tc, ¹³¹I, ³H, ¹⁴C, ¹⁵N, ⁹⁰Y, ⁹⁹Tc, ¹¹¹In and ¹²⁵I), fluorescentlabels (such as fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC), rhodamine, lanthanidephosphors), enzymatic labels (such as horseradish peroxidase,beta-galactosidase, luciferase, alkaline phosphatase), chemiluminescentmarkers, biotinyl groups, predetermined polypeptide epitopes recognizedby a secondary reporter (such as a leucine zipper pair sequences,binding sites for secondary antibodies, metal binding domains, epitopetags), or magnetic agents, such as gadolinium chelates. In someembodiments, labels are attached by spacer arms of various lengths toreduce potential steric hindrance.

Linker: In some cases, a linker is a peptide within an antibody bindingfragment (such as an Fv fragment) which serves to indirectly bond thevariable heavy chain to the variable light chain. “Linker” can alsorefer to a peptide serving to link a targeting moiety, such as anantibody, to an effector molecule, such as a cytotoxin or a detectablelabel.

The terms “conjugating,” “joining,” “bonding” or “linking” refer tomaking two polypeptides into one contiguous polypeptide molecule, or tocovalently attaching a radionuclide or other molecule to a polypeptide,such as an scFv. In the specific context, the terms include reference tojoining a ligand, such as an antibody moiety, to an effector molecule.The linkage can be either by chemical or recombinant means. “Chemicalmeans” refers to a reaction between the antibody moiety and the effectormolecule such that there is a covalent bond formed between the twomolecules to form one molecule.

Mammal: This term includes both human and non-human mammals. Similarly,the term “subject” includes both human and veterinary subjects.

Melanoma: A form of cancer that originates in melanocytes (cells thatmake the pigment melanin). Melanocytes are found primary in the skin,but are also present in the bowel and eye. Melanoma in the skin includessuperficial spreading melanoma, nodular melanoma, acral lentiginousmelanoma, and lentigo maligna (melanoma). Any of the above types mayproduce melanin or can be amelanotic. Similarly, any subtype may showdesmoplasia (dense fibrous reaction with neurotropism) which is a markerof aggressive behavior and a tendency to local recurrence. Othermelanomas include clear cell sarcoma, mucosal melanoma and uvealmelanoma.

Neoplasia, malignancy, cancer or tumor: A neoplasm is an abnormal growthof tissue or cells that results from excessive cell division. Neoplasticgrowth can produce a tumor. The amount of a tumor in an individual isthe “tumor burden” which can be measured as the number, volume, orweight of the tumor. A tumor that does not metastasize is referred to as“benign.” A tumor that invades the surrounding tissue and/or canmetastasize is referred to as “malignant.” Examples of hematologicaltumors include leukemias, including acute leukemias (such as acutelymphocytic leukemia, acute myelocytic leukemia, acute myelogenousleukemia and myeloblastic, promyelocytic, myelomonocytic, monocytic anderythroleukemia), chronic leukemias (such as chronic myelocytic(granulocytic) leukemia, chronic myelogenous leukemia, and chroniclymphocytic leukemia), polycythemia vera, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease,non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (indolent and high grade forms), multiplemyeloma, Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia, heavy chain disease,myelodysplastic syndrome, hairy cell leukemia and myelodysplasia.

Examples of solid tumors, such as sarcomas and carcinomas, includefibrosarcoma, myxosarcoma, liposarcoma, chondrosarcoma, osteogenicsarcoma, and other sarcomas, synovioma, mesothelioma, Ewing's tumor,leiomyosarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, colon carcinoma, lymphoid malignancy,pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, lung cancers, ovarian cancer, prostatecancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, basal cellcarcinoma, adenocarcinoma, sweat gland carcinoma, medullary thyroidcarcinoma, papillary thyroid carcinoma, pheochromocytomas sebaceousgland carcinoma, papillary carcinoma, papillary adenocarcinomas,medullary carcinoma, bronchogenic carcinoma, renal cell carcinoma,hepatoma, bile duct carcinoma, choriocarcinoma, Wilms' tumor, cervicalcancer, testicular tumor, seminoma, bladder carcinoma, and CNS tumors(such as a glioma, astrocytoma, medulloblastoma, craniopharyogioma,ependymoma, pinealoma, hemangioblastoma, acoustic neuroma,oligodendroglioma, menangioma, melanoma, neuroblastoma andretinoblastoma).

In several examples, a tumor is a liver cancer, such HCC orhepatoblastoma, melanoma, a squamous cell carcinoma, such as squamouscell carcinoma of the lung, a clear cell carcinoma, such as clear cellcarcinoma of the ovary, thyroid cancer, Wilms' tumor, neuroblastoma, ora testicular germ cell tumor.

Operably linked: A first nucleic acid sequence is operably linked with asecond nucleic acid sequence when the first nucleic acid sequence isplaced in a functional relationship with the second nucleic acidsequence. For instance, a promoter, such as the CMV promoter, isoperably linked to a coding sequence if the promoter affects thetranscription or expression of the coding sequence. Generally, operablylinked DNA sequences are contiguous and, where necessary to join twoprotein-coding regions, in the same reading frame.

Pharmaceutical agent: A chemical compound or composition capable ofinducing a desired therapeutic or prophylactic effect when properlyadministered to a subject or a cell.

Pharmaceutically acceptable carriers: The pharmaceutically acceptablecarriers of use are conventional. Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences,by E.W. Martin, Mack Publishing Co., Easton, Pa., 15th Edition, 1975,describes compositions and formulations suitable for pharmaceuticaldelivery of the antibodies herein disclosed.

In general, the nature of the carrier will depend on the particular modeof administration being employed. For instance, parenteral formulationsusually comprise injectable fluids that include pharmaceutically andphysiologically acceptable fluids such as water, physiological saline,balanced salt solutions, aqueous dextrose, glycerol or the like as avehicle. For solid compositions (such as powder, pill, tablet, orcapsule forms), conventional non-toxic solid carriers can include, forexample, pharmaceutical grades of mannitol, lactose, starch, ormagnesium stearate. In addition to biologically neutral carriers,pharmaceutical compositions to be administered can contain minor amountsof non-toxic auxiliary substances, such as wetting or emulsifyingagents, preservatives, and pH buffering agents and the like, for examplesodium acetate or sorbitan monolaurate.

Preventing, treating or ameliorating a disease: “Preventing” a diseaserefers to inhibiting the full development of a disease. “Treating”refers to a therapeutic intervention that ameliorates a sign or symptomof a disease or pathological condition after it has begun to develop,such as a reduction in tumor burden or a decrease in the number of sizeof metastases. “Ameliorating” refers to the reduction in the number orseverity of signs or symptoms of a disease, such as cancer.

Promoter: A promoter is an array of nucleic acid control sequences thatdirects transcription of a nucleic acid. A promoter includes necessarynucleic acid sequences near the start site of transcription, forexample, in the case of a polymerase II type promoter, a TATA element. Apromoter also optionally includes distal enhancer or repressor elementswhich can be located as much as several thousand base pairs from thestart site of transcription. Both constitutive and inducible promotersare included (see for example, Bitter et al., Methods in Enzymology153:516-544, 1987).

Specific, non-limiting examples of promoters include promoters derivedfrom the genome of mammalian cells (such as the metallothioneinpromoter) or from mammalian viruses (such as the retrovirus longterminal repeat; the adenovirus late promoter; the vaccinia virus 7.5Kpromoter). Promoters produced by recombinant DNA or synthetic techniquesmay also be used. A polynucleotide can be inserted into an expressionvector that contains a promoter sequence which facilitates the efficienttranscription of the inserted genetic sequence of the host. Theexpression vector typically contains an origin of replication, apromoter, as well as specific nucleic acid sequences that allowphenotypic selection of the transformed cells.

Purified: The term purified does not require absolute purity; rather, itis intended as a relative term. Thus, for example, a purified peptidepreparation is one in which the peptide or protein is more enriched thanthe peptide or protein is in its natural environment within a cell. Inone embodiment, a preparation is purified such that the protein orpeptide represents at least 50% of the total peptide or protein contentof the preparation. Substantial purification denotes purification fromother proteins or cellular components. A substantially purified proteinis at least 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95% or 98% pure. Thus, in one specific,non-limiting example, a substantially purified protein is 90% free ofother proteins or cellular components.

Recombinant: A recombinant nucleic acid is one that has a sequence thatis not naturally occurring or has a sequence that is made by anartificial combination of two otherwise separated segments of sequence.This artificial combination is often accomplished by chemical synthesisor by the artificial manipulation of isolated segments of nucleic acids,for example, by genetic engineering techniques.

Recombinant toxins: Chimeric proteins in which a cell targeting moietyis fused to a toxin (Pastan et al., Science, 254:1173-1177, 1991). Ifthe cell targeting moiety is the Fv portion of an antibody, the moleculeis termed a recombinant immunotoxin (Chaudhary et al., Nature,339:394-397, 1989). The toxin moiety is genetically altered so that itcannot bind to the toxin receptor present on most normal cells.Recombinant immunotoxins selectively kill cells which are recognized bythe antigen binding domain. These recombinant toxins and immunotoxinscan be used to treat cancer, for example, a cancer in which GPC3 isexpressed.

Sample (or biological sample): A biological specimen containing genomicDNA, RNA (including mRNA), protein, or combinations thereof, obtainedfrom a subject. Examples include, but are not limited to, peripheralblood, tissue, cells, urine, saliva, tissue biopsy, fine needleaspirate, surgical specimen, and autopsy material. In one example, asample includes a HCC tissue biopsy.

Sequence identity: The similarity between amino acid or nucleic acidsequences is expressed in terms of the similarity between the sequences,otherwise referred to as sequence identity. Sequence identity isfrequently measured in terms of percentage identity (or similarity orhomology); the higher the percentage, the more similar the two sequencesare. Homologs or variants of a polypeptide or nucleic acid molecule willpossess a relatively high degree of sequence identity when aligned usingstandard methods.

Methods of alignment of sequences for comparison are well known in theart. Various programs and alignment algorithms are described in: Smithand Waterman, Adv. Appl. Math. 2:482, 1981; Needleman and Wunsch, J.Mol. Biol. 48:443, 1970; Pearson and Lipman, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.U.S.A. 85:2444, 1988; Higgins and Sharp, Gene 73:237, 1988; Higgins andSharp, CABIOS 5:151, 1989; Corpet et al., Nucleic Acids Research16:10881, 1988; and Pearson and Lipman, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.85:2444, 1988. Altschul et al., Nature Genet. 6:119, 1994, presents adetailed consideration of sequence alignment methods and homologycalculations.

The NCBI Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) (Altschul et al., J.Mol. Biol. 215:403, 1990) is available from several sources, includingthe National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI, Bethesda, Md.)and on the internet, for use in connection with the sequence analysisprograms blastp, blastn, blastx, tblastn and tblastx. A description ofhow to determine sequence identity using this program is available onthe NCBI website on the internet.

Homologs and variants of a V_(L) or a V_(H) of an antibody thatspecifically binds a GPC3 polypeptide are typically characterized bypossession of at least about 75%, for example at least about 80%, 90%,95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% sequence identity counted over the full lengthalignment with the amino acid sequence of the antibody using the NCBIBlast 2.0, gapped blastp set to default parameters. For comparisons ofamino acid sequences of greater than about 30 amino acids, the Blast 2sequences function is employed using the default BLOSUM62 matrix set todefault parameters, (gap existence cost of 11, and a per residue gapcost of 1). When aligning short peptides (fewer than around 30 aminoacids), the alignment should be performed using the Blast 2 sequencesfunction, employing the PAM30 matrix set to default parameters (open gap9, extension gap 1 penalties). Proteins with even greater similarity tothe reference sequences will show increasing percentage identities whenassessed by this method, such as at least 80%, at least 85%, at least90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity. Whenless than the entire sequence is being compared for sequence identity,homologs and variants will typically possess at least 80% sequenceidentity over short windows of 10-20 amino acids, and may possesssequence identities of at least 85% or at least 90% or 95% depending ontheir similarity to the reference sequence. Methods for determiningsequence identity over such short windows are available at the NCBIwebsite on the internet. One of skill in the art will appreciate thatthese sequence identity ranges are provided for guidance only; it isentirely possible that strongly significant homologs could be obtainedthat fall outside of the ranges provided.

Squamous cell carcinoma: A type of cancer that originates in squamouscells, thin, flat cells that form the surface of the skin, eyes, variousinternal organs, and the lining of hollow organs and ducts of someglands. Squamous cell carcinoma is also referred to as epidermoidcarcinoma. One type of squamous cell carcinoma is squamous cellcarcinoma of the lung.

Subject: Living multi-cellular vertebrate organisms, a category thatincludes both human and veterinary subjects, including human andnon-human mammals.

Therapeutically effective amount: A quantity of a specific substancesufficient to achieve a desired effect in a subject being treated. Forinstance, this can be the amount necessary to inhibit or suppress growthof a tumor. In one embodiment, a therapeutically effective amount is theamount necessary to eliminate, reduce the size, or prevent metastasis ofa tumor. When administered to a subject, a dosage will generally be usedthat will achieve target tissue concentrations (for example, in tumors)that has been shown to achieve a desired in vitro effect.

Toxin: A molecule that is cytotoxic for a cell. Toxins include abrin,ricin, Pseudomonas exotoxin (PE), diphtheria toxin (DT), botulinumtoxin, saporin, restrictocin or gelonin, or modified toxins thereof. Forexample, PE and DT are highly toxic compounds that typically bring aboutdeath through liver toxicity. PE and DT, however, can be modified into aform for use as an immunotoxin by removing the native targetingcomponent of the toxin (such as domain Ia of PE or the B chain of DT)and replacing it with a different targeting moiety, such as an antibody.

Vector: A nucleic acid molecule as introduced into a host cell, therebyproducing a transformed host cell. A vector may include nucleic acidsequences that permit it to replicate in a host cell, such as an originof replication. A vector may also include one or more selectable markergenes and other genetic elements known in the art.

Unless otherwise explained, all technical and scientific terms usedherein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinaryskill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. The singular terms“a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless context clearlyindicates otherwise. Similarly, the word “or” is intended to include“and” unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Hence “comprisingA or B” means including A, or B, or A and B. It is further to beunderstood that all base sizes or amino acid sizes, and all molecularweight or molecular mass values, given for nucleic acids or polypeptidesare approximate, and are provided for description. Although methods andmaterials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used inthe practice or testing of the present disclosure, suitable methods andmaterials are described below. All publications, patent applications,patents, and other references mentioned herein are incorporated byreference in their entirety. All GENBANK™ Accession numbers are hereinincorporated by reference as they appear in the database on Apr. 14,2011. In case of conflict, the present specification, includingexplanations of terms, will control. In addition, the materials,methods, and examples are illustrative only and not intended to belimiting.

III. Introduction

The present disclosure describes the identification of monoclonalantibodies that bind a GPC, such as GPC3 or heparan sulfate (HS) chainson GPC3. Particular embodiments disclose the isolation andcharacterization of a single-domain VH human mAb (named HN3) targetinghuman GPC3. Particular data disclosed herein demonstrate that HN3 bindscell surface-associated GPC3 with high affinity. It is further shownthat HN3 binds a conformation-sensitive epitope in the core protein ofGPC3. HN3 inhibits HCC cell growth in vitro and in vivo, providingevidence that a GPC3 binder can directly inhibit HCC cell proliferation.

Further disclosed herein is the generation and characterization of ahuman mAb (named HS20) specific for the HS chains on GPC3. The HS20single-chain variable fragment (scFv) was isolated by phage display andconverted into a human IgG molecule. HS20 bound GPC3, but not a mutantform GPC3 lacking the HS chains, indicating the epitope of HS20 islocated on the HS chain. Immunohistochemistry analysis showed strongimmunostaining on the cell membrane of HCC cells and no staining onnon-cancer cells such as stroma cells. Moreover, results of woundhealing assays disclosed herein demonstrate that HS20 inhibits HCC cellmigration, and xenograft studies demonstrate that HS20 inhibits HCCtumor growth in vivo.

IV. Human Monoclonal Antibodies that Bind GPC3 or HS Chains on GPC3

Disclosed herein are human monoclonal antibodies that bind (for example,specifically bind) the GPC3 core protein, or HS chains on GPC3. In someembodiments, the human monoclonal antibody is an antibody fragment, suchas a single domain antibody, for example a VH domain. In otherembodiments, the antibody functional fragment is a scFv. In otherembodiments, the antibody is an immunoglobulin molecule, such as IgG.

A. HN3—Single (VH) Domain Monoclonal Antibody Specific for GPC3

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the human monoclonalantibody specific for GPC3 is a single domain (VH) antibody referred toas HN3. The DNA and protein sequences for HN3 are shown below and areset forth in the sequence listing as SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 2,respectively. Tables 1A and 1B lists the nucleotide and amino acidpositions of the HN3 CDRs, as determined by Kabat (Table 1A) and IMGT(Table 1B).

HN3 DNA Sequence  (SEQ ID NO: 1)CAGGTGCAGCTGGTGCAGTCTGGGGGAGGCTTGGTACAGCCTGGAGGGTCCCTGAGACTCTCCTGTGCAGCCTCTTATTTCGATTTCGATTCTTATGAAATGAGCTGGGTCCGCCAGGCTCCAGGGAAGGGCCTAGAGTGGATTGGGAGTATCTATCATAGTGGGAGCACCTACTACAACCCGTCCCTCAAGAGTCGAGTCACCATCTCCAGAGACAATTCCAAGAACACGCTGTATCTGCAAATGAACACCCTGAGAGCCGAGGACACAGCCACGTATTACTGTGCGAGAGTAAATATGGACCGATTTGACTACTGGGGCCAGGGAACCCTGGTCACCGTCTCCTCAAG THN3 Protein Sequence  (SEQ ID NO: 2)QVQLVQSGGGLVQPGGSLRLSCAASYFDFDSYEMSWVRQAPGKGLEWIGSIYHSGSTYYNPSLKSRVTISRDNSKNTLYLQMNTLRAEDTATYYCARVNM DRFDYWGQGTLVTVSSS

TABLE 1A Locations of the CDRs in the HN3 Sequence (according to Kabat)DNA CDR Sequence (SEQ ID NO: 1) Protein Sequence (SEQ ID NO: 2) CDR1nucleotides 91-105 amino acids 31-35 CDR2 nucleotides 148-195 aminoacids 50-65 CDR3 nucleotides 286-315 amino acids 96-105

TABLE 1B Locations of the CDRs in the HN3 Sequence (according to IMGT)DNA CDR Sequence (SEQ ID NO: 1) Protein Sequence (SEQ ID NO: 2) CDR1nucleotides 76-99 amino acids 26-33 CDR2 nucleotides 151-171 amino acids51-57 CDR3 nucleotides 286-315 amino acids 96-105

Provided herein are isolated human monoclonal antibodies that bind (forexample, specifically bind) GPC3, wherein the heavy chain of theantibody comprises at least a portion of the amino acid sequence setforth herein at SEQ ID NO: 2 (the amino acid sequence of VH domainantibody HN3), such as one or more CDRs of SEQ ID NO: 2. In someembodiments, the antibodies comprise one or more (such as all three) CDRsequences from SEQ ID NO: 2 as determined using the Kabat method. Inother embodiments, the antibodies comprise one or more (such as allthree) CDR sequences from SEQ ID NO: 2 as determined by IMGT.

In some embodiments, the heavy chain of the human monoclonal antibodythat binds, for example specifically binds, GPC3 comprises amino acidresidues 31-35 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid residues 50-65 of SEQ ID NO:2, or amino acid residues 96-105 of SEQ ID NO: 2, or any combinationthereof. In some examples, the heavy chain of the human monoclonalantibody comprises amino acid residues 31-35, 50-65 and 96-105 of SEQ IDNO: 2.

In some embodiments, the heavy chain of the human monoclonal antibodythat specifically binds GPC3 comprises amino acid residues 26-33 of SEQID NO: 2, amino acid residues 51-57 of SEQ ID NO: 2, or amino acidresidues 96-105 of SEQ ID NO: 2, or any combination thereof. In someexamples, the heavy chain of the human monoclonal antibody comprisesamino acid residues 26-33, 51-57 and 96-105 of SEQ ID NO: 2.

In particular non-limiting examples, the heavy chain of the antibodycomprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2.

In some embodiments, the human monoclonal antibody is a VH single-domainantibody, a Fab fragment, a Fab′ fragment, a F(ab)′2 fragment, a singlechain variable fragment (scFv), or a disulfide stabilized variablefragment (dsFv). In one non-limiting example, the antibody is a VHsingle-domain antibody. In other examples, the antibody is a scFv or anIgG.

In some embodiments, the disclosed antibodies bind GPC3 (recombinantprotein or cell-surface GPC3) with a dissociation constant (K_(d)) ofabout 2 nM or less. In several embodiments, the human monoclonalantibodies bind GPC3 with a binding affinity of about 2 nM, about 1 nM,about 0.7 nM, about 0.6 nM, about 0.5 nM, about 0.4 nM, about 0.3 nM,about 0.2 nM, about 0.15 nM or about 0.1 nM.

The isolated human monoclonal antibodies disclosed herein can belabeled, such as with a fluorescent, enzymatic, or radioactive label.

Further provided herein are compositions comprising a therapeuticallyeffective amount of the disclosed antibodies and a pharmaceuticallyacceptable carrier.

Immunoconjugates comprising the human monoclonal antibodies disclosedherein and an effector molecule are also provided. The effector moleculecan be, for example, a toxin or a detectable label. In some examples,the immunoconjugate comprises HN3 fused to a toxin, such as aPseudomonas exotoxin or variant thereof, for example PE38. In particularexamples, the immunoconjugate comprises an amino acid sequence at least85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least98% or at least 99% identical to SEQ ID NO: 29. In one non-limitingexample, the amino acid sequence of the immunoconjugate comprises orconsists of SEQ ID NO: 29. Examples of immunoconjugates are discussed ingreater detail in section V below. Also provided are compositionscomprising a therapeutically effective amount of the immunoconjugatesdisclosed herein and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.

Further provided herein are isolated nucleic acid molecules encoding thedisclosed human monoclonal antibodies. In some embodiments, thenucleotide sequence encoding the heavy chain of the human monoclonalantibody comprises at least a portion of SEQ ID NO: 1, such as theportion encoding one or more CDRs of SEQ ID NO: 1. In some examples, theheavy chain of the human monoclonal antibody comprises the nucleic acidsequence of SEQ ID NO: 1. In some examples, the isolated nucleic acidmolecule is operably linked to a promoter.

Also provided are expression vectors comprising the isolated nucleicacid molecules disclosed herein. Isolated host cells comprising thenucleic acid molecules or vectors are also provided herein. In someexamples, the host cell is a T cell, such as a cytotoxic T lymphocyte(CTL).

B. HS20—Monoclonal Antibody Specific for HS Chains on GPC3

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the human monoclonalantibody specific for HS chains on GPC3 comprises a scFv antibodyreferred to as H520. The DNA and protein sequences for HS20 scFv areshown below and are set forth in the sequence listing as SEQ ID NO: 11and SEQ ID NO: 12, respectively. The VH and VL sequences for thewild-type (Wt) and mutated (Mt) versions of HS20 are also designatedbelow. Tables 2A-2B and 3A-3B list the nucleotide and amino acidpositions of the HS20 CDRs, as determined by Kabat (Tables 2A and 3A)and IMGT (Tables 2B and 3B).

HS20 scFv DNA sequence (SEQ ID NO: 11):GAGGTGCAGCTGTTGGAGTCTGGGGGAGGCTTGGTACAGCCTGGGGGGTCCCTGAGACTCTCCTGTGCAGCCTCTGGATTCACCTTTAGCAGCTATGCCATGAGCTGGGTCCGCCAGGCTCCAGGGAAGGGGCTGGAGTGGGTCTCAACTATTCAGAAGCAGGGTCTGCCTACAgAGTACGCAGACTCCGTGAAGGGGCGGTTCACCATCTCCAGAGACAATTCCAAGAACACGCTGTATCTGCAAATGAACAGCCTGAGAGCCGAGGACACGGCCGTATATTACTGTGCGAAAAATCGGGCTAAGTTTGACTACTGGGGCCAGGGAACCCTGGTCACCGTCTCGAGCGGTGGAGGCGGTTCAGGCGGAGGTGGCAGCGGCGGTGGCGGGTCGACGGACATCcAGATGACCCAGTCTCCATCCTCCCTGTCTGCATCTGTAGGAGACAGAGTCACCATCACTTGCCGGGCAAGTCAGAGCATTAGCAGCTATTTAAATTGGTATCAGCAGAAACCAGGGAAAGCCCCTAAGCTCCTGATCTATAATGCATCCATGTTGCAAAGTGGGGTCCCATCAAGGTTCAGTGGCAGTGGATCTGGGACAGATTTCACTCTCACCATCAGCAGTCTGCAACCTGAAGATTTTGCAACTTACTACTGTCAACAGAATCGGGGTTTTCCTCTGACGTTCGGCCAAGGGACCAAGGTGGAAATCAAA HS20 scFv Protein Sequence (SEQ ID NO: 12):EVQLLESGGGLVQPGGSLRLSCAASGFTFSSYAMSWVRQAPGKGLEWVSTIQKQGLPTEYADSVKGRFTISRDNSKNTLYLQMNSLRAEDTAVYYCAKNRAKFDYWGQGTLVTVSSGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSTDIQMTQSPSSLSASVGDRVTITCRASQSISSYLNWYQQKPGKAPKLLIYNASMLQSGVPSRFSGSGSGTDFTLTISSLQPEDFATYYCQQNRGFPLTFGQGTKVEIKHS20 (Wt) VH and VL DNA Sequences VH (SEQ ID NO: 13):GAGGTGCAGCTGTTGGAGTCTGGGGGAGGCTTGGTACAGCCTGGGGGGTCCCTGAGACTCTCCTGTGCAGCCTCTGGATTCACCTTTAGCAGCTATGCCATGAGCTGGGTCCGCCAGGCTCCAGGGAAGGGGCTGGAGTGGGTCTCAACTATTCAGAAGCAGGGTCTGCCTACACAGTACGCAGACTCCGTGAAGGGGCGGTTCACCATCTCCAGAGACAATTCCAAGAACACGCTGTATCTGCAAATGAACAGCCTGAGAGCCGAGGACACGGCCGTATATTACTGTGCGAAAAATCGGGCTAAGTTTGACTACTGGGGCCAGGGAACCCTGGTCACCGTCTCGAGCVL (SEQ ID NO: 15):GACATCCAGATGACCCAGTCTCCATCCTCCCTGTCTGCATCTGTAGGAGACAGAGTCACCATCACTTGCCGGGCAAGTCAGAGCATTAGCAGCTATTTAAATTGGTATCAGCAGAAACCAGGGAAAGCCCCTAAGCTCCTGATCTATAATGCATCCATGTTGCAAAGTGGGGTCCCATCAAGGTTCAGTGGCAGTGGATCTGGGACAGATTTCACTCTCACCATCAGCAGTCTGCAACCTGAAGATTTTGCAACTTACTACTGTCAACAGAATCGGGGTTTTCCTCTGACGTTCGGCCAAGGGACCAAGGTGGAAATCAAA H520 (Wt) VH and VL Protein SequencesVH (SEQ ID NO: 14):EVQLLESGGGLVQPGGSLRLSCAASGFTFSSYAMSWVRQAPGKGLEWVSTIQKQGLPTQYADSVKGRFTISRDNSKNTLYLQMNSLRAEDTAVYYCAKNRAKFDYWGQGTLVTVSSVL (SEQ ID NO: 16):DIQMTQSPSSLSASVGDRVTITCRASQSISSYLNWYQQKPGKAPKLLIYNASMLQSGVPSRFSGSGSGTDFTLTISSLQPEDFATYYCQQNRGFPLTFGQGTKVEIKAs described below in Example 3, a modified version of the HS20mAb (referred to as HS20 Mt) was generated to remove an N-glycosylation site in the VL domain. The nucleotide and aminoacid sequences of the VL domain of HS20 Mt are shown below. The mutated nucleotides and amino acid residue are underlined.H520 MtVL-nucleotide sequence (SEQ ID NO: 30)GACATCcAGATGACCCAGTCTCCATCCTCCCTGTCTGCATCTGTAGGAGACAGAGTCACCATCACTTGCCGGGCAAGTCAGAGCATTAGCAGCTATTTAAATTGGTATCAGCAGAAACCAGGGAAAGCCCCTAAGCTCCTGATCTATGCTGCATCCATGTTGCAAAGTGGGGTCCCATCAAGGTTCAGTGGCAGTGGATCTGGGACAGATTTCACTCTCACCATCAGCAGTCTGCAACCTGAAGATTTTGCAACTTACTACTGTCAACAGAATCGGGGTTTTCCTCTGACGTTCGGCCAAGGGACCAAGGTGGAAATCAAA H520 Mt VL-amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO: 31)DIQMTQSPSSLSASVGDRVTITCRASQSISSYLNWYQQKPGKAPKLLIYAASMLQSGVPSRFSGSGSGTDFTLTISSLQPEDFATYYCQQNRGFPLTFGQGTKVEIK

TABLE 2A Locations of the CDRs in the HS20 VH Sequence (according toKabat) Protein CDR DNA Sequence (SEQ ID NO: 13) Sequence (SEQ ID NO: 14)CDR1 nucleotides 91-105 amino acids 31-35 CDR2 nucleotides 148-198 aminoacids 50-66 CDR3 nucleotides 289-315 amino acids 97-105

TABLE 2B Locations of the CDRs in the HS20 VH Sequence (according toIMGT) Protein CDR DNA Sequence (SEQ ID NO: 13) Sequence (SEQ ID NO: 14)CDR1 nucleotides 76-99 amino acids 26-33 CDR2 nucleotides 151-174 aminoacids 51-58 CDR3 nucleotides 289-315 amino acids 97-105

TABLE 3A Locations of the CDRs in the HS20 VL Sequence (according toKabat) DNA Sequence (SEQ ID NO: 15 Protein Sequence (SEQ ID NO: 16 CDRor SEQ ID NO: 30) or SEQ ID NO: 31) CDR1 nucleotides 70-102 amino acids24-34 CDR2 nucleotides 148-168 amino acids 50-56 CDR3 nucleotides265-291 amino acids 89-97

TABLE 3B Locations of the CDRs in the HS20 VL Sequence (according toIMGT) DNA Sequence (SEQ ID NO: 15 Protein Sequence (SEQ ID NO: 16 CDR orSEQ ID NO: 30) or SEQ ID NO: 31) CDR1 nucleotides 79-96 amino acids27-32 CDR2 nucleotides 148-156 amino acids 50-52 CDR3 nucleotides265-291 amino acids 89-97

Provided herein are isolated human monoclonal antibodies that bind (forexample, specifically bind) HS chains on GPC3, wherein the heavy chainof the antibody comprises at least a portion of the amino acid sequenceset forth herein at SEQ ID NO: 14, such as the CDRs of SEQ ID NO: 14; orthe light chain of the antibody comprises at least a portion of theamino acid sequence set forth herein as SEQ ID NO: 16 or SEQ ID NO: 31,such as the CDRs of SEQ ID NO: 16 or SEQ ID NO: 31; or both. In someembodiments, the antibodies comprise a heavy chain having one or more(such as all three) CDR sequences from SEQ ID NO: 14 and/or comprise alight chain having one or more (such as all three) CDR sequences fromSEQ ID NO: 16, as determined using the Kabat method. In someembodiments, the antibodies comprise a heavy chain having one or more(such as all three) CDR sequences from SEQ ID NO: 14 and/or comprise alight chain having one or more (such as all three) CDR sequences fromSEQ ID NO: 31, as determined using the Kabat method.

In some embodiments, the antibodies comprise a heavy chain having one ormore (such as all three) CDR sequences from SEQ ID NO: 14 and/orcomprise a light chain having one or more (such as all three) CDRsequences from SEQ ID NO: 16, as determined by IMGT. In otherembodiments, the antibodies comprise a heavy chain having one or more(such as all three) CDR sequences from SEQ ID NO: 14 and/or comprise alight chain having one or more (such as all three) CDR sequences fromSEQ ID NO: 31, as determined by IMGT.

In some embodiments, provided herein is an isolated human monoclonalantibody that binds (for example specifically binds) HS on GPC3, whereinthe heavy chain of the antibody comprises amino acid residues 31-35 ofSEQ ID NO: 14, amino acid residues 50-66 of SEQ ID NO: 14, or amino acidresidues 97-105 of SEQ ID NO: 14, or any combination thereof; or thelight chain of the antibody comprises amino acid residues 24-34 of SEQID NO: 16 or SEQ ID NO: 31, amino acid residues 50-56 of SEQ ID NO: 16or SEQ ID NO: 31, or amino acid residues 89-97 of SEQ ID NO: 16 or SEQID NO: 31, or any combination thereof.

In some examples, the heavy chain of the antibody comprises amino acidresidues 31-35, 50-66 and 97-105 of SEQ ID NO: 14; or the light chain ofthe antibody comprises amino acid residues 24-34, 50-56 and 89-97 of SEQID NO: 16; or both. In other examples, the heavy chain of the antibodycomprises amino acid residues 31-35, 50-66 and 97-105 of SEQ ID NO: 14;or the light chain of the antibody comprises amino acid residues 24-34,50-56 and 89-97 of SEQ ID NO: 31; or both.

In some embodiments, provided herein is an isolated human monoclonalantibody that binds (for example, specifically binds) HS on GPC3,wherein the heavy chain of the antibody comprises amino acid residues26-33 of SEQ ID NO: 14, amino acid residues 51-58 of SEQ ID NO: 14, oramino acid residues 97-105 of SEQ ID NO: 14, or any combination thereof;or the light chain of the antibody comprises amino acid residues 27-32of SEQ ID NO: 16 or SEQ ID NO: 31, amino acid residues 50-52 of SEQ IDNO: 16 or SEQ ID NO: 31, or amino acid residues 89-97 of SEQ ID NO: 16or SEQ ID NO: 31, or any combination thereof.

In some examples, the heavy chain of the antibody comprises amino acidresidues 26-33, 51-58 and 97-105 of SEQ ID NO: 14; or the light chain ofthe antibody comprises amino acid residues 27-32, 50-52 and 89-97 of SEQID NO: 16; or both. In other examples, the heavy chain of the antibodycomprises amino acid residues 26-33, 51-58 and 97-105 of SEQ ID NO: 14;or the light chain of the antibody comprises amino acid residues 27-32,50-52 and 89-97 of SEQ ID NO: 31; or both.

In some examples, the heavy chain of the antibody comprises the aminoacid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14; or the light chain of the antibodycomprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 16; or both. In otherexamples, the heavy chain of the antibody comprises the amino acidsequence of SEQ ID NO: 14; or the light chain of the antibody comprisesthe amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 31; or both.

In some embodiments, the disclosed antibodies bind GPC3 with a K_(d) ofabout 2.5 nM or less. In several embodiments, the human monoclonalantibodies bind GPC3 with a binding affinity of about 1 nM or less. Insome examples, the human monoclonal antibodies bind GPC3 with a bindingaffinity of about 0.9 nM, about 0.8 nM, about 0.75 nM, about 0.7 nM,about 0.6 nM, or about 0.5 nM.

In some embodiments, the human monoclonal antibody is a VH single-domainantibody, a Fab fragment, a Fab′ fragment, a F(ab)′₂ fragment, a singlechain variable fragment (scFv), or a disulfide stabilized variablefragment (dsFv). In one non-limiting example, the antibody is a scFv. Inother examples, the antibody is an IgG.

The isolated human monoclonal antibodies that bind HS chains on GPC3disclosed herein can be labeled, such as with a fluorescent, enzymatic,or radioactive label.

Further provided herein are compositions comprising a therapeuticallyeffective amount of the disclosed antibodies and a pharmaceuticallyacceptable carrier.

Immunoconjugates comprising the human monoclonal antibodies specific forHS on GPC3 disclosed herein and an effector molecule are also provided.The effector molecule can be, for example, a toxin or a detectablelabel. Examples of immunoconjugates are discussed in greater detail insection V below. Also provided are compositions comprising atherapeutically effective amount of the immunoconjugates disclosedherein and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.

Further provided herein are isolated nucleic acid molecules encoding thedisclosed human monoclonal antibodies. In some embodiments, thenucleotide sequence encoding the heavy chain of the human monoclonalantibody comprises at least a portion of SEQ ID NO: 13, such as aportion encoding one or more CDRs; or the nucleotide sequence encodingthe light chain of the human monoclonal antibody comprises at least aportion of SEQ ID NO: 15 or SEQ ID NO: 30, such as a portion encodingone or more CDRs; or both.

In some examples, the nucleotide sequence encoding the heavy chain ofthe human monoclonal antibody comprises SEQ ID NO: 13; or the nucleotidesequence encoding the light chain of the human monoclonal antibodycomprises SEQ ID NO: 15 or SEQ ID NO: 30; or both. In some examples, theisolated nucleic acid molecule is operably linked to a promoter.

Also provided are expression vectors comprising the isolated nucleicacid molecules disclosed herein. Isolated host cells comprising thenucleic acid molecules or vectors are also provided herein. In someexamples, the host cell is a T cell, such as a CTL.

C. Antibodies and Antibody Fragments

The monoclonal antibodies disclosed herein can be of any isotype. Themonoclonal antibody can be, for example, an IgM or an IgG antibody, suchas IgG₁ or an IgG₂. The class of an antibody that specifically bindsGPC3, or HS on GPC3, can be switched with another (for example, IgG canbe switched to IgM), according to well-known procedures. Class switchingcan also be used to convert one IgG subclass to another, such as fromIgG₁ to IgG₂.

Antibody fragments are also encompassed by the present disclosure, suchas single-domain antibodies (e.g., VH domain antibodies), Fab, F(ab′)₂,and Fv. These antibody fragments retain the ability to selectively bindwith the antigen. These fragments include:

(1) Fab, the fragment which contains a monovalent antigen-bindingfragment of an antibody molecule, can be produced by digestion of wholeantibody with the enzyme papain to yield an intact light chain and aportion of one heavy chain;

(2) Fab′, the fragment of an antibody molecule can be obtained bytreating whole antibody with pepsin, followed by reduction, to yield anintact light chain and a portion of the heavy chain; two Fab′ fragmentsare obtained per antibody molecule;

(3) (Fab′)₂, the fragment of the antibody that can be obtained bytreating whole antibody with the enzyme pepsin without subsequentreduction; F(ab′)2 is a dimer of two Fab′ fragments held together by twodisulfide bonds;

(4) Fv, a genetically engineered fragment containing the variable regionof the light chain and the variable region of the heavy chain expressedas two chains;

(5) Single chain antibody (such as scFv), a genetically engineeredmolecule containing the variable region of the light chain, the variableregion of the heavy chain, linked by a suitable polypeptide linker as agenetically fused single chain molecule;

(6) A dimer of a single chain antibody (scFV₂), defined as a dimer of ascFv (also known as a “miniantibody”); and

(7) VH single-domain antibody, an antibody fragment consisting of theheavy chain variable domain.

Methods of making these fragments are known in the art (see for example,Harlow and Lane, Antibodies: A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring HarborLaboratory, New York, 1988).

In some cases, antibody fragments can be prepared by proteolytichydrolysis of the antibody or by expression in a host cell (such as E.coli) of DNA encoding the fragment. Antibody fragments can be obtainedby pepsin or papain digestion of whole antibodies by conventionalmethods. For example, antibody fragments can be produced by enzymaticcleavage of antibodies with pepsin to provide a 5S fragment denotedF(ab′)2. This fragment can be further cleaved using a thiol reducingagent, and optionally a blocking group for the sulfhydryl groupsresulting from cleavage of disulfide linkages, to produce 3.5S Fab′monovalent fragments. Alternatively, an enzymatic cleavage using pepsinproduces two monovalent Fab′ fragments and an Fc fragment directly (seeU.S. Pat. No. 4,036,945 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,331,647).

Other methods of cleaving antibodies, such as separation of heavy chainsto form monovalent light-heavy chain fragments, further cleavage offragments, or other enzymatic, chemical, or genetic techniques may alsobe used, so long as the fragments bind to the antigen that is recognizedby the intact antibody.

One of skill will realize that conservative variants of the antibodiescan be produced. Such conservative variants employed in antibodyfragments, such as dsFv fragments or in scFv fragments, will retaincritical amino acid residues necessary for correct folding andstabilizing between the V_(H) and the V_(L) regions, and will retain thecharge characteristics of the residues in order to preserve the low pIand low toxicity of the molecules. Amino acid substitutions (such as atmost one, at most two, at most three, at most four, or at most fiveamino acid substitutions) can be made in the V_(H) and/or the V_(L)regions to increase yield. Conservative amino acid substitution tablesproviding functionally similar amino acids are well known to one ofordinary skill in the art. The following six groups are examples ofamino acids that are considered to be conservative substitutions for oneanother:

1) Alanine (A), Serine (S), Threonine (T);

2) Aspartic acid (D), Glutamic acid (E);

3) Asparagine (N), Glutamine (Q);

4) Arginine (R), Lysine (K);

5) Isoleucine (I), Leucine (L), Methionine (M), Valine (V); and

6) Phenylalanine (F), Tyrosine (Y), Tryptophan (W).

V. Immunoconjugates

The human monoclonal antibodies specific for GPC3, or HS on GPC3,described herein can be conjugated to a therapeutic agent or effectormolecule. Immunoconjugates include, but are not limited to, molecules inwhich there is a covalent linkage of a therapeutic agent to an antibody.A therapeutic agent is an agent with a particular biological activitydirected against a particular target molecule or a cell bearing a targetmolecule. One of skill in the art will appreciate that therapeuticagents can include various drugs such as vinblastine, daunomycin and thelike, cytotoxins such as native or modified Pseudomonas exotoxin orDiphtheria toxin, encapsulating agents (such as liposomes) whichthemselves contain pharmacological compositions, radioactive agents suchas ¹²⁵I, ³²P, ¹⁴C, ³H and ³⁵S and other labels, target moieties andligands.

The choice of a particular therapeutic agent depends on the particulartarget molecule or cell, and the desired biological effect. Thus, forexample, the therapeutic agent can be a cytotoxin that is used to bringabout the death of a particular target cell (such as a tumor cell).Conversely, where it is desired to invoke a non-lethal biologicalresponse, the therapeutic agent can be conjugated to a non-lethalpharmacological agent or a liposome containing a non-lethalpharmacological agent.

With the therapeutic agents and antibodies described herein, one ofskill can readily construct a variety of clones containing functionallyequivalent nucleic acids, such as nucleic acids which differ in sequencebut which encode the same effector moiety or antibody sequence. Thus,the present disclosure provides nucleic acids encoding antibodies andconjugates and fusion proteins thereof.

Effector molecules can be linked to an antibody of interest using anynumber of means known to those of skill in the art. Both covalent andnoncovalent attachment means may be used. The procedure for attaching aneffector molecule to an antibody varies according to the chemicalstructure of the effector. Polypeptides typically contain a variety offunctional groups; such as carboxylic acid (COOH), free amine (—NH₂) orsulfhydryl (—SH) groups, which are available for reaction with asuitable functional group on an antibody to result in the binding of theeffector molecule. Alternatively, the antibody is derivatized to exposeor attach additional reactive functional groups. The derivatization mayinvolve attachment of any of a number of known linker molecules. Thelinker can be any molecule used to join the antibody to the effectormolecule. The linker is capable of forming covalent bonds to both theantibody and to the effector molecule. Suitable linkers are well knownto those of skill in the art and include, but are not limited to,straight or branched-chain carbon linkers, heterocyclic carbon linkers,or peptide linkers. Where the antibody and the effector molecule arepolypeptides, the linkers may be joined to the constituent amino acidsthrough their side groups (such as through a disulfide linkage tocysteine) or to the alpha carbon amino and carboxyl groups of theterminal amino acids.

In some circumstances, it is desirable to free the effector moleculefrom the antibody when the immunoconjugate has reached its target site.Therefore, in these circumstances, immunoconjugates will compriselinkages that are cleavable in the vicinity of the target site. Cleavageof the linker to release the effector molecule from the antibody may beprompted by enzymatic activity or conditions to which theimmunoconjugate is subjected either inside the target cell or in thevicinity of the target site.

In view of the large number of methods that have been reported forattaching a variety of radiodiagnostic compounds, radiotherapeuticcompounds, label (such as enzymes or fluorescent molecules) drugs,toxins, and other agents to antibodies one skilled in the art will beable to determine a suitable method for attaching a given agent to anantibody or other polypeptide.

The antibodies or antibody fragments disclosed herein can be derivatizedor linked to another molecule (such as another peptide or protein). Ingeneral, the antibodies or portion thereof is derivatized such that thebinding to the target antigen is not affected adversely by thederivatization or labeling. For example, the antibody can befunctionally linked (by chemical coupling, genetic fusion, noncovalentassociation or otherwise) to one or more other molecular entities, suchas another antibody (for example, a bispecific antibody or a diabody), adetection agent, a pharmaceutical agent, and/or a protein or peptidethat can mediate association of the antibody or antibody portion withanother molecule (such as a streptavidin core region or a polyhistidinetag).

One type of derivatized antibody is produced by cross-linking two ormore antibodies (of the same type or of different types, such as tocreate bispecific antibodies). Suitable crosslinkers include those thatare heterobifunctional, having two distinctly reactive groups separatedby an appropriate spacer (such asm-maleimidobenzoyl-N-hydroxysuccinimide ester) or homobifunctional (suchas disuccinimidyl suberate). Such linkers are commercially available.

A human antibody that binds (for example specifically binds) GPC3, or HSchains on GPC3, can be labeled with a detectable moiety. Usefuldetection agents include fluorescent compounds, including fluorescein,fluorescein isothiocyanate, rhodamine,5-dimethylamine-1-napthalenesulfonyl chloride, phycoerythrin, lanthanidephosphors and the like. Bioluminescent markers are also of use, such asluciferase, Green fluorescent protein (GFP), Yellow fluorescent protein(YFP). An antibody can also be labeled with enzymes that are useful fordetection, such as horseradish peroxidase, β-galactosidase, luciferase,alkaline phosphatase, glucose oxidase and the like. When an antibody islabeled with a detectable enzyme, it can be detected by addingadditional reagents that the enzyme uses to produce a reaction productthat can be discerned. For example, when the agent horseradishperoxidase is present the addition of hydrogen peroxide anddiaminobenzidine leads to a colored reaction product, which is visuallydetectable. An antibody may also be labeled with biotin, and detectedthrough indirect measurement of avidin or streptavidin binding. Itshould be noted that the avidin itself can be labeled with an enzyme ora fluorescent label.

An antibody may be labeled with a magnetic agent, such as gadolinium.Antibodies can also be labeled with lanthanides (such as europium anddysprosium), and manganese. Paramagnetic particles such assuperparamagnetic iron oxide are also of use as labels. An antibody mayalso be labeled with a predetermined polypeptide epitopes recognized bya secondary reporter (such as leucine zipper pair sequences, bindingsites for secondary antibodies, metal binding domains, epitope tags). Insome embodiments, labels are attached by spacer arms of various lengthsto reduce potential steric hindrance.

An antibody can also be labeled with a radiolabeled amino acid. Theradiolabel may be used for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Forinstance, the radiolabel may be used to detect GPC3 by x-ray, emissionspectra, or other diagnostic techniques. Examples of labels forpolypeptides include, but are not limited to, the followingradioisotopes or radionucleotides: ³H, ¹⁴C, ¹⁵N, ³⁵S, ⁹⁰Y, ⁹⁹Tc, ¹¹¹In,¹²⁵I, ¹³¹I.

An antibody can also be derivatized with a chemical group such aspolyethylene glycol (PEG), a methyl or ethyl group, or a carbohydrategroup. These groups may be useful to improve the biologicalcharacteristics of the antibody, such as to increase serum half-life orto increase tissue binding.

Toxins can be employed with the human monoclonal antibodies describedherein to produce immunotoxins. Exemplary toxins include ricin, abrin,diphtheria toxin and subunits thereof, as well as botulinum toxins Athrough F. These toxins are readily available from commercial sources(for example, Sigma Chemical Company, St. Louis, Mo.). Contemplatedtoxins also include variants of the toxins described herein (see, forexample, see, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,079,163 and 4,689,401). In oneembodiment, the toxin is Pseudomonas exotoxin (PE) (U.S. Pat. No.5,602,095). As used herein “Pseudomonas exotoxin” refers to afull-length native (naturally occurring) PE or a PE that has beenmodified. Such modifications can include, but are not limited to,elimination of domain Ia, various amino acid deletions in domains Ib, IIand III, single amino acid substitutions and the addition of one or moresequences at the carboxyl terminus (for example, see Siegall et al., J.Biol. Chem. 264:14256-14261, 1989).

PE employed with the monoclonal antibodies described herein can includethe native sequence, cytotoxic fragments of the native sequence, andconservatively modified variants of native PE and its cytotoxicfragments. Cytotoxic fragments of PE include those which are cytotoxicwith or without subsequent proteolytic or other processing in the targetcell. Cytotoxic fragments of PE include PE40, PE38, and PE35. Foradditional description of PE and variants thereof, see for example, U.S.Pat. Nos. 4,892,827; 5,512,658; 5,602,095; 5,608,039; 5,821,238; and5,854,044; PCT Publication No. WO 99/51643; Pal et al., Proc. Natl Acad.Sci. USA 88:3358-3362, 1991; Kondo et al., J. Biol. Chem. 263:9470-9475,1988; Pastan et al., Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1333:C1-C6, 1997.

In some examples, the PE is PE38, comprising the following amino acidsequence:

(SEQ ID NO: 27) GGSLAALTAHQACHLPLETFTRHRQPRGWEQLEQCGYPVQRLVALYLAARLSWNQVDQVIRNALASPGSGGDLGEAIREQPEQARLALTLAAAESERFVRQGTGNDEAGAANGPADSGDALLERNYPTGAEFLGDGGDVSFSTRGTQNWTVERLLQAHRQLEERGYVFVGYHGTFLEAAQSIVFGGVRARSQDLDAIWRGFYIAGDPALAYGYAQDQEPDARGRIRNGALLRVYVPRSSLPGFYRTSLTLAAPEAAGEVERLIGHPLPLRLDAITGPEEEGGRLETILGWPLAERTVVIPSAIPTDPRNVGGDLDPSSIPDKEQAISALPDYASQPGKPPREDLK

Also contemplated herein are protease-resistant PE variants and PEvariants with reduced immunogenicity, such as, but not limited to PE-LR,PE-6X, PE-8X, PE-LR/6X and PE-LR/8X (see, for example, Weldon et al.,Blood 113(16):3792-3800, 2009; Onda et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA105(32):11311-11316, 2008; and PCT Publication Nos. WO 2007/016150, WO2009/032954 and WO 2011/032022, which are herein incorporated byreference).

In some examples, the PE is a variant that is resistant to lysosomaldegradation, such as PE-LR (Weldon et al., Blood 113(16):3792-3800,2009; PCT Publication No. WO 2009/032954) having the following aminoacid sequence:

(SEQ ID NO: 23) RHRQPRGWEQLPTGAEFLGDGGDVSFSTRGTQNWTVERLLQAHRQLEERGYVFVGYHGTFLEAAQSIVFGGVRARSQDLDAIWRGFYIAGDPALAYGYAQDQEPDARGRIRNGALLRVYVPRSSLPGFYRTSLTLAAPEAAGEVERLIGHPLPLRLDAITGPEEEGGRLETILGWPLAERTVVIPSAIPTDPRNVGGDLDPSSIPDKEQAISALPDYASQPGKPPREDLK

In other examples, the PE is a variant designated PE-LR/6X (PCTPublication No. WO 2011/032022) having the following amino acidsequence:

(SEQ ID NO: 24) RHRQPRGWEQLPTGAEFLGDGGDVSFSTRGTQNWTVERLLQAHRQLEEGGYVFVGYHGTFLEAAQSIVFGGVRARSQDLDAIWAGFYIAGDPALAYGYAQDQEPDAAGRIRNGALLRVYVPRSSLPGFYATSLTLAAPEAAGEVERLIGHPLPLRLDAITGPEESGGRLETILGWPLAERTVVIPSAIPTDPRNVGGDLD PSSIPDSEQAISALPDYASQPGKPPREDLK

In other examples, the PE variant is PE with reducing immunogenicity,such as a PE with the following sequence:

(X = G, A or S; SEQ ID NO: 25)RHRQPRGWEQLPTGAEFLGDGGXVSFSTRGTQNWTVERLLQAHRQLEEXGYVFVGYHGTFLEAAQSIVFGGVRARSQDLDAIWXGFYIAGDPALAYGYAQDQEPDAXGRIRNGALLRVYVPRSSLPGFYXTSLTLAAPEAAGEVERLIGHPLPLRLDAITGPEEXGGRLETILGWPLAERTVVIPSAIPTDPRNVGGDLDPSSIPDXEXAISALPDYASQPGKPPREDLK

In other examples, the PE is a variant designated PE-LR/8M (PCTPublication No. WO 2011/032022) having the following amino acidsequence:

(SEQ ID NO: 26) RHRQPRGWEQLPTGAEFLGDGGAVSFSTRGTQNWTVERLLQAHRQLEEGGYVFVGYHGTFLEAAQSIVFGGVRARSQDLDAIWAGFYIAGDPALAYGYAQDQEPDAAGRIRNGALLRVYVPRSSLPGFYATSLTLAAPEAAGEVERLIGHPLPLRLDAITGPEESGGRLETILGWPLAERTVVIPSAIPTDPRNVGGDLDPSSIPDSEAAISALPDYASQPGKPPREDLK

The antibodies described herein can also be used to target any number ofdifferent diagnostic or therapeutic compounds to cells expressing GPC3on their surface. Thus, an antibody of the present disclosure can beattached directly or via a linker to a drug that is to be delivereddirectly to cells expressing cell-surface GPC3. This can be done fortherapeutic, diagnostic or research purposes. Therapeutic agents includesuch compounds as nucleic acids, proteins, peptides, amino acids orderivatives, glycoproteins, radioisotopes, lipids, carbohydrates, orrecombinant viruses. Nucleic acid therapeutic and diagnostic moietiesinclude antisense nucleic acids, derivatized oligonucleotides forcovalent cross-linking with single or duplex DNA, and triplex formingoligonucleotides.

Alternatively, the molecule linked to an anti-GPC3 antibody can be anencapsulation system, such as a liposome or micelle that contains atherapeutic composition such as a drug, a nucleic acid (for example, anantisense nucleic acid), or another therapeutic moiety that ispreferably shielded from direct exposure to the circulatory system.Means of preparing liposomes attached to antibodies are well known tothose of skill in the art (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,735;Connor et al., Pharm. Ther. 28:341-365, 1985).

Antibodies described herein can also be covalently or non-covalentlylinked to a detectable label. Detectable labels suitable for such useinclude any composition detectable by spectroscopic, photochemical,biochemical, immunochemical, electrical, optical or chemical means.Useful labels include magnetic beads, fluorescent dyes (for example,fluorescein isothiocyanate, Texas red, rhodamine, green fluorescentprotein, and the like), radiolabels (for example, ³H, ¹²⁵I, ³⁵S, ¹⁴C, or³²P), enzymes (such as horseradish peroxidase, alkaline phosphatase andothers commonly used in an ELISA), and colorimetric labels such ascolloidal gold or colored glass or plastic (such as polystyrene,polypropylene, latex, and the like) beads.

Means of detecting such labels are well known to those of skill in theart. Thus, for example, radiolabels may be detected using photographicfilm or scintillation counters, fluorescent markers may be detectedusing a photodetector to detect emitted illumination. Enzymatic labelsare typically detected by providing the enzyme with a substrate anddetecting the reaction product produced by the action of the enzyme onthe substrate, and colorimetric labels are detected by simplyvisualizing the colored label.

VI. Compositions and Methods of Use

Compositions are provided that include one or more of the disclosedantibodies that bind (for example specifically bind) GPC3 or HS on GPC3in a carrier. Compositions comprising immunoconjugates or immunotoxinsare also provided. The compositions can be prepared in unit dosage formsfor administration to a subject. The amount and timing of administrationare at the discretion of the treating clinician to achieve the desiredoutcome. The antibody can be formulated for systemic or local (such asintra-tumor) administration. In one example, the antibody is formulatedfor parenteral administration, such as intravenous administration.

The compositions for administration can include a solution of theantibody dissolved in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, such as anaqueous carrier. A variety of aqueous carriers can be used, for example,buffered saline and the like. These solutions are sterile and generallyfree of undesirable matter. These compositions may be sterilized byconventional, well known sterilization techniques. The compositions maycontain pharmaceutically acceptable auxiliary substances as required toapproximate physiological conditions such as pH adjusting and bufferingagents, toxicity adjusting agents and the like, for example, sodiumacetate, sodium chloride, potassium chloride, calcium chloride, sodiumlactate and the like. The concentration of antibody in theseformulations can vary widely, and will be selected primarily based onfluid volumes, viscosities, body weight and the like in accordance withthe particular mode of administration selected and the subject's needs.

A typical pharmaceutical composition for intravenous administrationincludes about 0.1 to 10 mg of antibody per subject per day. Dosagesfrom 0.1 up to about 100 mg per subject per day may be used,particularly if the agent is administered to a secluded site and notinto the circulatory or lymph system, such as into a body cavity or intoa lumen of an organ. Actual methods for preparing administrablecompositions will be known or apparent to those skilled in the art andare described in more detail in such publications as Remington'sPharmaceutical Science, 19th ed., Mack Publishing Company, Easton, Pa.(1995).

Antibodies may be provided in lyophilized form and rehydrated withsterile water before administration, although they are also provided insterile solutions of known concentration. The antibody solution is thenadded to an infusion bag containing 0.9% sodium chloride, USP, and insome cases administered at a dosage of from 0.5 to 15 mg/kg of bodyweight. Considerable experience is available in the art in theadministration of antibody drugs, which have been marketed in the U.S.since the approval of RITUXAN® in 1997. Antibodies can be administeredby slow infusion, rather than in an intravenous push or bolus. In oneexample, a higher loading dose is administered, with subsequent,maintenance doses being administered at a lower level. For example, aninitial loading dose of 4 mg/kg may be infused over a period of some 90minutes, followed by weekly maintenance doses for 4-8 weeks of 2 mg/kginfused over a 30 minute period if the previous dose was well tolerated.

Controlled release parenteral formulations can be made as implants, oilyinjections, or as particulate systems. For a broad overview of proteindelivery systems see, Banga, A. J., Therapeutic Peptides and Proteins:Formulation, Processing, and Delivery Systems, Technomic PublishingCompany, Inc., Lancaster, Pa., (1995). Particulate systems includemicrospheres, microparticles, microcapsules, nanocapsules, nanospheres,and nanoparticles. Microcapsules contain the therapeutic protein, suchas a cytotoxin or a drug, as a central core. In microspheres thetherapeutic is dispersed throughout the particle. Particles,microspheres, and microcapsules smaller than about 1 μm are generallyreferred to as nanoparticles, nanospheres, and nanocapsules,respectively. Capillaries have a diameter of approximately 5 μm so thatonly nanoparticles are administered intravenously. Microparticles aretypically around 100 μm in diameter and are administered subcutaneouslyor intramuscularly. See, for example, Kreuter, J., Colloidal DrugDelivery Systems, J. Kreuter, ed., Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, N.Y.,pp. 219-342 (1994); and Tice & Tabibi, Treatise on Controlled DrugDelivery, A. Kydonieus, ed., Marcel Dekker, Inc. New York, N.Y., pp.315-339, (1992).

Polymers can be used for ion-controlled release of the antibodycompositions disclosed herein. Various degradable and nondegradablepolymeric matrices for use in controlled drug delivery are known in theart (Langer, Accounts Chem. Res. 26:537-542, 1993). For example, theblock copolymer, polaxamer 407, exists as a viscous yet mobile liquid atlow temperatures but forms a semisolid gel at body temperature. It hasbeen shown to be an effective vehicle for formulation and sustaineddelivery of recombinant interleukin-2 and urease (Johnston et al.,Pharm. Res. 9:425-434, 1992; and Pec et al., J. Parent. Sci. Tech.44(2):58-65, 1990). Alternatively, hydroxyapatite has been used as amicrocarrier for controlled release of proteins (Ijntema et al., Int. J.Pharm. 112:215-224, 1994). In yet another aspect, liposomes are used forcontrolled release as well as drug targeting of the lipid-capsulateddrug (Betageri et al., Liposome Drug Delivery Systems, TechnomicPublishing Co., Inc., Lancaster, Pa. (1993)). Numerous additionalsystems for controlled delivery of therapeutic proteins are known (seeU.S. Pat. No. 5,055,303; U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,837; U.S. Pat. No.4,235,871; U.S. Pat. No. 4,501,728; U.S. Pat. No. 4,837,028; U.S. Pat.No. 4,957,735; U.S. Pat. No. 5,019,369; U.S. Pat. No. 5,055,303; U.S.Pat. No. 5,514,670; U.S. Pat. No. 5,413,797; U.S. Pat. No. 5,268,164;U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,697; U.S. Pat. No. 4,902,505; U.S. Pat. No.5,506,206; U.S. Pat. No. 5,271,961; U.S. Pat. No. 5,254,342 and U.S.Pat. No. 5,534,496).

A. Therapeutic Methods

The antibodies, compositions and immunoconjugates disclosed herein canbe administered to slow or inhibit the growth of tumor cells or inhibitthe metastasis of tumor cells, such as HCC cells. In these applications,a therapeutically effective amount of an antibody is administered to asubject in an amount sufficient to inhibit growth, replication ormetastasis of cancer cells, or to inhibit a sign or a symptom of thecancer. Suitable subjects may include those diagnosed with a cancer thatexpresses GPC3, such as, but not limited to, HCC, melanoma, lung canceror ovarian cancer.

In one non-limiting embodiment, provided herein is a method of treatinga subject with cancer by selecting a subject with a cancer thatexpresses GPC3 and administering to the subject a therapeuticallyeffective amount of an antibody, composition or immunoconjugatedisclosed herein.

Also provided herein is a method of inhibiting tumor growth ormetastasis by selecting a subject with a cancer that expresses GPC3 andadministering to the subject a therapeutically effective amount of anantibody, composition or immunoconjugate disclosed herein.

A therapeutically effective amount of a human GPC3-specific antibody orimmunoconjugate will depend upon the severity of the disease and thegeneral state of the patient's health. A therapeutically effectiveamount of the antibody is that which provides either subjective reliefof a symptom(s) or an objectively identifiable improvement as noted bythe clinician or other qualified observer.

Administration of the antibodies and immunoconjugates disclosed hereincan also be accompanied by administration of other anti-cancer agents ortherapeutic treatments (such as surgical resection of a tumor). Anysuitable anti-cancer agent can be administered in combination with theantibodies, compositions and immunoconjugates disclosed herein.Exemplary anti-cancer agents include, but are not limited to,chemotherapeutic agents, such as, for example, mitotic inhibitors,alkylating agents, anti-metabolites, intercalating antibiotics, growthfactor inhibitors, cell cycle inhibitors, enzymes, topoisomeraseinhibitors, anti-survival agents, biological response modifiers,anti-hormones (e.g. anti-androgens) and anti-angiogenesis agents. Otheranti-cancer treatments include radiation therapy and other antibodiesthat specifically target cancer cells.

Non-limiting examples of alkylating agents include nitrogen mustards(such as mechlorethamine, cyclophosphamide, melphalan, uracil mustard orchlorambucil), alkyl sulfonates (such as busulfan), nitrosoureas (suchas carmustine, lomustine, semustine, streptozocin, or dacarbazine).

Non-limiting examples of antimetabolites include folic acid analogs(such as methotrexate), pyrimidine analogs (such as 5-FU or cytarabine),and purine analogs, such as mercaptopurine or thioguanine.

Non-limiting examples of natural products include vinca alkaloids (suchas vinblastine, vincristine, or vindesine), epipodophyllotoxins (such asetoposide or teniposide), antibiotics (such as dactinomycin,daunorubicin, doxorubicin, bleomycin, plicamycin, or mitomycin C), andenzymes (such as L-asparaginase).

Non-limiting examples of miscellaneous agents include platinumcoordination complexes (such as cis-diamine-dichloroplatinum II alsoknown as cisplatin), substituted ureas (such as hydroxyurea), methylhydrazine derivatives (such as procarbazine), and adrenocroticalsuppressants (such as mitotane and aminoglutethimide).

Non-limiting examples of hormones and antagonists includeadrenocorticosteroids (such as prednisone), progestins (such ashydroxyprogesterone caproate, medroxyprogesterone acetate, and magestrolacetate), estrogens (such as diethylstilbestrol and ethinyl estradiol),antiestrogens (such as tamoxifen), and androgens (such as testeroneproprionate and fluoxymesterone). Examples of the most commonly usedchemotherapy drugs include Adriamycin, Alkeran, Ara-C, BiCNU, Busulfan,CCNU, Carboplatinum, Cisplatinum, Cytoxan, Daunorubicin, DTIC, 5-FU,Fludarabine, Hydrea, Idarubicin, Ifosfamide, Methotrexate, Mithramycin,Mitomycin, Mitoxantrone, Nitrogen Mustard, Taxol (or other taxanes, suchas docetaxel), Velban, Vincristine, VP-16, while some more newer drugsinclude Gemcitabine (Gemzar), Herceptin, Irinotecan (Camptosar, CPT-11),Leustatin, Navelbine, Rituxan STI-571, Taxotere, Topotecan (Hycamtin),Xeloda (Capecitabine), Zevelin and calcitriol.

Non-limiting examples of immunomodulators that can be used includeAS-101 (Wyeth-Ayerst Labs.), bropirimine (Upjohn), gamma interferon(Genentech), GM-CSF (granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor;Genetics Institute), IL-2 (Cetus or Hoffman-LaRoche), human immuneglobulin (Cutter Biological), IMREG (from Imreg of New Orleans, La.),SK&F 106528, and TNF (tumor necrosis factor; Genentech).

Another common treatment for some types of cancer is surgical treatment,for example surgical resection of the cancer or a portion of it. Anotherexample of a treatment is radiotherapy, for example administration ofradioactive material or energy (such as external beam therapy) to thetumor site to help eradicate the tumor or shrink it prior to surgicalresection.

B. Methods for Diagnosis and Detection

Methods are provided herein for detecting expression of GPC3 in vitro orin vivo. In some cases, GPC3 expression is detected in a biologicalsample. The sample can be any sample, including, but not limited to,tissue from biopsies, autopsies and pathology specimens. Biologicalsamples also include sections of tissues, for example, frozen sectionstaken for histological purposes. Biological samples further include bodyfluids, such as blood, serum, plasma, sputum, spinal fluid or urine. Abiological sample is typically obtained from a mammal, such as a humanor non-human primate.

In one embodiment, provided is a method of determining if a subject hascancer by contacting a sample from the subject with a human monoclonalantibody disclosed herein; and detecting binding of the antibody to thesample. An increase in binding of the antibody to the sample as comparedto binding of the antibody to a control sample identifies the subject ashaving cancer.

In another embodiment, provided is a method of confirming a diagnosis ofcancer in a subject by contacting a sample from a subject diagnosed withcancer with a human monoclonal antibody disclosed herein; and detectingbinding of the antibody to the sample. An increase in binding of theantibody to the sample as compared to binding of the antibody to acontrol sample confirms the diagnosis of cancer in the subject.

In some examples of the disclosed methods, the human monoclonal antibodyis directly labeled.

In some examples, the methods further include contacting a secondantibody that specifically binds the human monoclonal antibody with thesample; and detecting the binding of the second antibody. An increase inbinding of the second antibody to the sample as compared to binding ofthe second antibody to a control sample detects cancer in the subject orconfirms the diagnosis of cancer in the subject.

In some cases, the cancer is HCC, melanoma, lung cancer or ovariancancer, or any other type of cancer that expresses GPC3.

In some examples, the control sample is a sample from a subject withoutcancer. In particular examples, the sample is a blood or tissue sample.

In some cases, the human antibody that binds (for example specificallybinds) GPC3 (or HS chains on GPC3) is directly labeled with a detectablelabel. In another embodiment, the human antibody that binds (forexample, specifically binds) GPC3 (the first antibody) is unlabeled anda second antibody or other molecule that can bind the human antibodythat specifically binds GPC3 is labeled. As is well known to one ofskill in the art, a second antibody is chosen that is able tospecifically bind the specific species and class of the first antibody.For example, if the first antibody is a human IgG, then the secondaryantibody may be an anti-human-lgG. Other molecules that can bind toantibodies include, without limitation, Protein A and Protein G, both ofwhich are available commercially.

Suitable labels for the antibody or secondary antibody are describedabove, and include various enzymes, prosthetic groups, fluorescentmaterials, luminescent materials, magnetic agents and radioactivematerials. Non-limiting examples of suitable enzymes include horseradishperoxidase, alkaline phosphatase, beta-galactosidase, oracetylcholinesterase. Non-limiting examples of suitable prosthetic groupcomplexes include streptavidin/biotin and avidin/biotin. Non-limitingexamples of suitable fluorescent materials include umbelliferone,fluorescein, fluorescein isothiocyanate, rhodamine,dichlorotriazinylamine fluorescein, dansyl chloride or phycoerythrin. Anon-limiting exemplary luminescent material is luminol; a non-limitingexemplary a magnetic agent is gadolinium, and non-limiting exemplaryradioactive labels include ¹²⁵I, ¹³¹I, ³⁵S or ³H.

In an alternative embodiment, GPC3 can be assayed in a biological sampleby a competition immunoassay utilizing GPC3 standards labeled with adetectable substance and an unlabeled human antibody that specificallybinds GPC3. In this assay, the biological sample, the labeled GPC3standards and the human antibody that specifically bind GPC3 arecombined and the amount of labeled GPC3 standard bound to the unlabeledantibody is determined. The amount of GPC3 in the biological sample isinversely proportional to the amount of labeled GPC3 standard bound tothe antibody that specifically binds GPC3.

The immunoassays and method disclosed herein can be used for a number ofpurposes. In one embodiment, the human antibody that specifically bindsGPC3 may be used to detect the production of GPC3 in cells in cellculture. In another embodiment, the antibody can be used to detect theamount of GPC3 in a biological sample.

In one embodiment, a kit is provided for detecting GPC3 in a biologicalsample, such as a blood sample or tissue sample. For example, to confirma cancer diagnosis in a subject, a biopsy can be performed to obtain atissue sample for histological examination. Alternatively, a bloodsample can be obtained to detect the presence of soluble GPC3 protein orfragment. Kits for detecting a polypeptide will typically comprise ahuman antibody that specifically binds GPC3, such as any of theantibodies disclosed herein. In some embodiments, an antibody fragment,such as an scFv fragment, a VH domain, or a Fab is included in the kit.In a further embodiment, the antibody is labeled (for example, with afluorescent, radioactive, or an enzymatic label).

In one embodiment, a kit includes instructional materials disclosingmeans of use of an antibody that binds GPC3. The instructional materialsmay be written, in an electronic form (such as a computer diskette orcompact disk) or may be visual (such as video files). The kits may alsoinclude additional components to facilitate the particular applicationfor which the kit is designed. Thus, for example, the kit mayadditionally contain means of detecting a label (such as enzymesubstrates for enzymatic labels, filter sets to detect fluorescentlabels, appropriate secondary labels such as a secondary antibody, orthe like). The kits may additionally include buffers and other reagentsroutinely used for the practice of a particular method. Such kits andappropriate contents are well known to those of skill in the art.

In one embodiment, the diagnostic kit comprises an immunoassay. Althoughthe details of the immunoassays may vary with the particular formatemployed, the method of detecting GPC3 in a biological sample generallyincludes the steps of contacting the biological sample with an antibodywhich specifically reacts, under immunologically reactive conditions, toa GPC3 polypeptide. The antibody is allowed to specifically bind underimmunologically reactive conditions to form an immune complex, and thepresence of the immune complex (bound antibody) is detected directly orindirectly.

Methods of determining the presence or absence of a cell surface markerare well known in the art. For example, the antibodies can be conjugatedto other compounds including, but not limited to, enzymes, magneticbeads, colloidal magnetic beads, haptens, fluorochromes, metalcompounds, radioactive compounds or drugs. The antibodies can also beutilized in immunoassays such as but not limited to radioimmunoassays(RIAs), enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), orimmunohistochemical assays. The antibodies can also be used forfluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS). A FACS employs a pluralityof color channels, low angle and obtuse light-scattering detectionchannels, and impedance channels, among other more sophisticated levelsof detection, to separate or sort cells (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,061,620).Any of the human antibodies that bind GPC3 (or HS chains on GPCS), asdisclosed herein, can be used in these assays. Thus, the antibodies canbe used in a conventional immunoassay, including, without limitation, anELISA, an RIA, FACS, tissue immunohistochemistry, Western blot orimmunoprecipitation.

C. Engineered Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes (CTLs)

The disclosed monoclonal antibodies can also be used to produce CTLsengineered to express chimeric antigen receptors (CARs; also known aschimeric T cell receptors, artificial T cell receptors or chimericimmunoreceptors). Generally, CARs include a binding moiety, anextracellular hinge and spacer element, a transmembrane region and anendodomain that performs signaling functions (Cartellieri et al., JBiomed Biotechnol 2010:956304, 2010). In many instances, the bindingmoiety is an antigen binding fragment of a monoclonal antibody, such asa scFv. Several different endodomains have been used to generate CARs.For example, the endodomain can consist of a signaling chain having animmunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM), such as CD3ζ orFcεRIγ. In some instances, the endodomain further includes theintracellular portion of at least one additional co-stimulatory domain,such as CD28 and/or CD137.

CTLs expressing CARs can be used to target a specific cell type, such asa tumor cell. Thus, the monoclonal antibodies disclosed herein can beused to engineer CTLs that express a CAR containing an antigen-bindingfragment of a GPC3-specific antibody, thereby targeting the engineeredCTLs to GPC3-expressing tumor cells. Engineered T cells have previouslyused for adoptive therapy for some types of cancer (see, for example,Park et al., Mol Ther 15(4):825-833, 2007). The use of T cellsexpressing CARs is more universal than standard CTL-based immunotherapybecause CTLs expressing CARs are HLA unrestricted and can therefore beused for any patient having a tumor that expressed the target antigen.

Accordingly, provided herein are CARs comprising a GPC3-specificantibody binding fragment, such as a scFv. Also provided are isolatednucleic acid molecules and vectors encoding the CARs, and host cells,such as CTLs, comprising the nucleic acid molecules or vectors. CTLsexpressing CARs comprised of a GPC3-specific antibody binding fragmentcan be used for the treatment of cancers that express GPC3, such as HCC.Thus, provided herein are methods of treating a subject with cancer byselecting a subject with a cancer that expresses GPC3, and administeringto the subject a therapeutically effective amount of the CTLs expressingthe GPC3-targeted CARs.

D. Bispecific Antibodies

Bispecific antibodies are recombinant proteins comprised ofantigen-binding fragments of two different monoclonal antibodies. Thus,bispecific antibodies bind two different antigens. Bispecific antibodiescan be used for cancer immunotherapy by simultaneously targeting bothCTLs (such as a CTL receptor component such as CD3) and a tumor antigen.The GPC3-specific monoclonal antibodies disclosed herein can be used togenerate bispecific antibodies that target both GPC3 and CTLs, therebyproviding a means to treat GPC3-expressing cancers.

Provided herein are bispecific monoclonal antibodies comprising aGPC3-specific monoclonal antibody, or antigen-binding fragment thereof.In some embodiments, the bispecific monoclonal antibody furthercomprises a monoclonal antibody, or antigen-binding fragment thereof,that specifically binds a component of the T cell receptor, such as CD3.Also provided are isolated nucleic acid molecules and vectors encodingthe bispecific antibodies, and host cells comprising the nucleic acidmolecules or vectors. Bispecific antibodies comprising a GPC3-specificantibody, or antigen-binding fragment thereof, can be used for thetreatment of cancers that express GPC3, such as HCC. Thus, providedherein are methods of treating a subject with cancer by selecting asubject with a cancer that expresses GPC3, and administering to thesubject a therapeutically effective amount of the GPC3-targetingbispecific antibody.

The following examples are provided to illustrate certain particularfeatures and/or embodiments. These examples should not be construed tolimit the disclosure to the particular features or embodimentsdescribed.

EXAMPLES Example 1: HN3—a Human Single-Domain Monoclonal Antibody thatBinds Cell Surface-Associated Glypican-3 and Inhibits HCC CellProliferation

This example describes the generation and characterization of ahigh-affinity single-domain mAb against tumor-associated GPC3.

A. Materials and Methods Cell Lines

Human hepatocarcinoma cell lines HepG2, Hep3B, HuH-1, HuH-4, HuH-7, andSK-Hep1 were maintained as adherent monolayer cultures in D-MEM medium(Invitrogen, Carlsbad, Calif.) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum(HyClone, Logan, Utah), 1% L-glutamine, and 1% penicillin-streptomycin(Invitrogen, Carlsbad, Calif.) and incubated in 5% CO₂ with a balance ofair at 37° C. Cells were harvested and the media were changed twice aweek. Cells were confirmed to be negative for mycoplasma. A431 (humanepithelial carcinoma cell line), which is GPC3 negative cell line, wasengineered to express high levels of GPC3 by transfection with a plasmidcoding for GPC3. Both A431 and the stably transfected cell line (namedG1) were maintained in D-MEM as described above.

Phage Display and Panning Method

A combinatorial human VH domain library, with an estimated size of2.5×10¹⁰, was previously constructed (Chen et al., J Mol Biol382:779-789, 2008). Library bacterial stock was inoculated into 2.5liters of 2YT media containing 2% glucose and 100 μg/ml ampicillin, andcultured at 37° C. with shaking at 250 rpm. When mid-log phase (OD₆₀₀between 0.4-0.8) was reached, super-infection was performed by addinghelper phage M13KO7 at 5×10⁹ pfu/ml. After one hour of continued growth,cells were collected and resuspended in 2.5 liters of 2YT mediacontaining 100 μg/ml ampicillin and 50 μg/ml kanamycin. The cell culturewas then further incubated at 25° C. overnight. The cells were pelleted,and the supernatant was filtered with a 0.22 μm membrane and then storedat 4° C. for panning.

Recombinant GPC3 was expressed in 293F cells and purified by nickelcolumn chromatography as previously reported (Feng et al., Int J Cancer128(9):2246-2247, 2011). For panning, a 96-well ELISA plate (Maxisorb,Nunc/Thermo Fisher Scientific, Rochester, N.Y.) was used to capturevarious mount of purified GPC3 in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) at 4°C. overnight. The coating buffer was decanted, and the plate was blockedwith blocking buffer (2% bovine serum albumin (BSA) in PBS) at roomtemperature for 1 hour. At the same time, 30 μl phage supernatant(typically contained 10¹⁰-10¹¹ cfu) was pre-blocked by mixing with 30 μlblocking buffer in an Ependorf tube. Blocking buffer was removed fromthe plate and 60 μl pre-blocked phage supernatant was added to one welland incubated for 1 h at room temperature to allow for binding. Unboundphage was removed and the plate was washed 4 times with PBS containing0.05% tween-20. The bound phage was eluted by 100 mM TEA. For the firstround of panning, 5 μg immobilized GPC3 was used; 0.5 μg GP3 was usedfor the second, third and fourth rounds of panning. After four rounds ofpanning, single colonies were picked and identified as GPC3 binders byusing phage ELISA and phage FACS methods.

HN3-hFc Expression and Purification

HN3-hFc was expressed in HEK-293F cells in a suspension manner. SecretedGPC3 protein was purified using protein A column (GE healthcare)according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Flow Cytometry

Cells were harvested in cell dissociation solution (Invitrogen), washed,and resuspended in ice-cold PBS containing 5% BSA. Cells were incubatedwith 10 μg/mL of HN3-hFc and an isotype control human IgG (SouthernBiotech). Binding was detected with goat anti-human IgG conjugated withphycoerythrin (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, Mo.). The fluorescenceassociated with the live cells was measured using a FACSCalibur (BDBiosciences, Franklin Lakes, N.J.).

For the cellular binding affinity measurement, various amounts ofHN3-hFc were incubated with G1 cells. The geomean values were associatedwith corresponding HN3-hFc concentration, and kD value was determined bythe software Prism 5.0 using one-site binding method.

For the phage FACS, 30 μl phage supernatant was pre-blocked with FACSbuffer for 1 hour on ice, and then mixed with G1 cell suspension.Binding was detected by mouse anti-M13 and PE conjugated goat-anti-mouseantibody.

ELISA

Purified GPC3 was used to coat 96-well plate at 1 μg/ml in PBS buffer,50 μl/well, at 4° C. overnight. After removing the coating buffer,HN3-hFc solution was added and the plate was incubated at roomtemperature to allow binding to occur. After removing HN3-hFc solution,the plate was washed twice with PBS buffer containing 0.05% Tween 20.The binding was detected by a goat-anti-human-HRP conjugate (Biosource).

For phage ELISA, 30 μl phage supernatant was pre-blocked with blockingbuffer, then processed according to the standard ELISA method. Bindingwas detected by HRP conjugated mouse anti-M13 antibody (GE healthcare).

For the HN3-hFc affinity measurement, various amounts of HN3-hFc wereincubated. The OD₄₅₀ values were associated with corresponding HN3-hFcconcentration, and kD value was determined by the software Prism 5.0(GraphPad Software) using one-site binding method.

WST-8 Cell Growth Assay

Cell growth inhibition was assessed by WST-8 assay using the CellCounting Kit-8 (Dojindo, Gaithersburg, Md.) according to themanufacturer's instructions. Five hundred microliters of cells wereseeded on a 24-well plate at 1×10⁴ cells per well, with the addition ofHN3-hFc at the indicated concentrations. The cells were incubated at 37°C. for 4 days, followed by the cell viability assay as previouslyreported (Ho et al., Int J Cancer 128:2020-2030, 2011)

B. Results Isolation of an Anti-GPC3 Single-Domain Human mAb

The single-domain library used in the present study was constructedbased on the frame regions of the highly soluble antibody m0 (Chen etal., J Mol Biol 382:779-789, 2008), which has a sequence similar to thegerm line counterpart DP47. DP47 is highly soluble and refoldable(Jespers et al., J Mol Bio 337: 893-903, 2004).

To screen antibodies specific for the core protein or the HS chain ofGPC3, two human Fc fusion proteins were constructed and produced:GPC3-hFc and GPC3 (AA)-hFc proteins. The Fc fragment contains the hingeregion with the CH2 and CH3 domains. GPC3 (AA)-hFc contains the twopoint mutations (S495A and S502A) which abolish the HS chains on GPC3.The molecular weights and purity of the proteins were validated bySDS-PAGE and Western blot (FIG. 1). The purity was greater than 90%. Thesingle-domain phage display library was then screened on 5 μg of GPC3coated on a flat 96-well ELISA plate for the first round and thenagainst 0.5 μg of GPC3 in the following 3 rounds of panning. After thefirst round of phage panning, about 9000 individual phage clones wereobtained. At the end of the fourth round of panning, more than 95% ofclones were GPC3 binders; HN3 was the dominant clone that was highlyenriched. Sequence analysis showed that HN3 shared the same sequence inthe frame region as that of m0 and DP47 (FIG. 2).

High Affinity Binding of HN3 to Cell Surface-Associated GPC3

To examine the binding properties of HN3 on cancer cells, the HN3-humanFc fusion protein (HN3-hFc) was constructed and purified using a ProteinA column. SDS-PAGE analysis showed that it formed a dimer with amolecular weight of approximately 80 kDa. Under reduced conditions, themolecular weight was approximately 40 kDa (FIG. 3A).

HN3-hFc was then used to test six HCC cell lines, one negative cell lineA431, and the A431-derived cell line G1. The G1 cell line stably andhighly expresses GPC3 on the cell surface. HN3 showed specific bindingon HCC cells and G1 cells, but no binding on GPC3-negative A431 cancercells (FIG. 3B). The binding affinities of HN3 to GPC3 protein andGPC3-positive cells were measured by ELISA and flow cytometry,respectively. The binding affinities for both GPC3 protein and cellswere very strong, with calculated K_(D) values of 0.64 nM for GPC3protein and 0.15 nM for cell surface-associated GPC3 (FIG. 4). HN3 boundcell surface-associated GPC3 stronger than soluble GPC3 protein,probably due to the native conformation of GPC3 on the cell surface. HN3did not recognize denatured GPC3 by Western Blot, indicating the bindingof HN3 might be conformation-dependent.

Epitope mapping results showed that HN3 bound the wild type GPC3 proteinas strong as the mutant GPC3 without the HS chains. Therefore, HN3 bindsto the core protein of GPC3. The binding was independent of the HSchains. Moreover, HN3 didn't bind either the N-terminal fragment or theC-terminal fragment, indicating again HN3 recognized a nativeconformation in the core protein of GPC3 (FIG. 5).

HN3 Treatment Inhibited HCC Cell Proliferation by Causing Cell CycleArrest and Apoptosis

To determine the effects of specific GPC3 depletion on the proliferationand survival of human HCC tumor cell lines, three differentGPC3-specific shRNAs were used to knock down GPC3 mRNA/protein. The celllines studied for sensitivity included Hep3B and Huh-7, both HCC celllines. Efficient knockdown of GPC3 protein by specific shRNA wasverified by immunoblotting (FIG. 6A). The shRNAs sh-1 and sh-2reduced >90% of GPC3 expression in HCC cells while the shRNA sh-3 onlymoderately reduced ˜10% of GPC3 expression in HCC cells (FIG. 6A).Exposure of Hep3B and Huh-7 cell lines to GPC3-specific shRNA (sh-1 andsh-2) in culture resulted in a profound inhibition of proliferation(FIGS. 6B and 6C). In contrast, exposure of the same cells to a control(scrambled) shRNA did not affect proliferation.

To determine whether HN3 could directly inhibit HCC proliferation byneutralizing GPC3 proliferative effects, cell growth inhibition assayswere performed on five GPC3-positive HCC cell lines and oneGPC3-negative epithelial cancer cell line (A431). It was found that HN3strongly inhibited the growth of Hep3B and Huh-7 cell lines with an IC₅₀of ˜50 μg/ml, and partially inhibited HepG2, Huh-4 and Huh1 cell growth(FIG. 6D). HN3 did not inhibit A431 cells and other GPC3-negative cells.Other anti-GPC3 human and mouse mAbs in the lab were tested and none ofthem could inhibit HCC cell proliferation, indicating the epitoperecognized by the HN3 human mAb was a novel functional domainspecifically involved in HCC cell proliferation.

To study the mechanisms underlying the inhibition of HCC cellproliferation by the HN3 human antibody, cell cycle and apoptosis wereanalyzed. In Huh4 and Huh7, HN3 treatment significantly increased the G1population, and decreased the S phase (FIG. 7A). Apoptosis was alsoexamined in HN3-treated HCC cells. The induction of apoptosis wasobserved in HN3-treated Huh-4, Huh-7 and Hep3B cells (FIG. 7B). Cleavageof apoptotic marker PARP was observed after 48 h treatment of the HN3human mAb (FIG. 7C).

Hippo/Yap, TGFβ and Wnt signaling pathways were further investigatedbecause these three pathways have been suggested to play important rolesin HCC pathogenesis, particularly cell proliferation and survival. Itwas found that target genes of Wnt and TGF signaling did not change,indicating these two pathways might not be involved in the HN3-inducedcell cycle arrest and apoptosis. However, Yap may be involved in themechanism underlying cell proliferation inhibition by the HN3 human mAb.

It was recently recognized that hippo pathway actively controls liversize from over growth. Deregulation of hippo pathway was frequently seenin HCC, as resulting from constitutively active yap, the majordownstream effector of hippo pathway. To detect the possibility that HN3inhibits cell proliferation through inactivating yap, molecular changeswere measured in a panel of three HCC cell lines (Huh-4, Huh-7 andHep3B) after HN3 treatment by western blot (FIG. 7D). It was found thatyap was inactivated because of the increase of phosphorylated yap anddegradation. The total yap was also decreased in treated Hep3B.Consistent with yap inactivation, the yap target gene, cyclin D1, thegene involved in G1 arrest, was also decreased. These observationsindicate yap may mediate HN3 function.

C. Discussion

Disclosed herein is the isolation of HN3, a human single-domain mAbtargeting GPC3, by phage display. HN3 reacts strongly and specificallyto a novel conformation-sensitive epitope of GPC3 on cancer cells withsub nanomolar binding affinity. The binding is independent of the HSchains on GPC3. Furthermore, HN3 can directly inhibit HCC cellproliferation in vitro. The present disclosure is the first report of ahuman mAb against GPC3 and shows for the first time that drugs targetingGPC3 can inhibit HCC growth.

Antibody-based therapy targeting GPC3 has recently been explored. Themouse mAb GC33 which recognizes a C terminal peptide has been made andhumanized GC33 is currently being evaluated in clinical trials for livercancer therapy. HN3 has at least three advantages over GC33. First, HN3is a fully human protein. Immunotherapy targeted against GPC3-expressingcancers cannot be fully exploited without a human mAb with high affinityagainst GPC3 on cancer cells. Second, HN3 is a single-domain antibody.Single-domain mAbs have several advantages over conventional IgGantibodies: (a) better penetration in solid tumors due to its small size(˜15 kDa), (b) relative ease and reduced cost of production in E. coli,yeast, or even plants, and (c) the potential to be more feasible inbispecific antibodies, immunotoxins, immunoconjugates, engineeredcytotoxic T cells, and nanoparticles. Third, HN3 binds cellsurface-associated GPC3 with sub-nanomolar affinity and directlyinhibits HCC cell proliferation. The results disclosed hereindemonstrate that HN3 can be used as a therapeutic agent for thetreatment of liver cancer.

HN3 does not bind to denatured full-length GPC3, but it bindscell-surface associated GPC3 molecules with high affinity. Thesefindings strongly suggest that HN3 recognizes a specificconformation-sensitive epitope structure present in the native form ofGPC3 on cells.

HN3 can also be used for diagnostics of HCC by ELISA,immunohistochemistry, and tumor imaging. Filmus and colleagues developedthe 1G12 mAb specific for the C terminus of GPC3 and established anELISA method to measure serum GPC3 in HCC patients (Capurro et al.,Gastroenterology 125:89-97, 2003). They found GPC3 was significantlyincreased in the serum of 53% of patients with HCC but undetectable inhealthy donors and patients with hepatitis. Hippo et al. developed mAbsspecific for the N terminus (residues: 25-358) of GPC3 and found GPC3was significantly increased in the serum of 51% of HCC patients (Hippoet al., Cancer Res 64:2418-2423, 2004).

The present disclosure describes the generation and characterization ofa high-affinity single-domain mAb against tumor-associated GPC3. BecauseHN3 is entirely of human origin and has high affinity, it is expected tobe much less immunogenic than murine mAb and to be efficient intargeting GPC3-expressing tumors. HN3 is the first GPC3 binder thatshows direct inhibition of HCC growth. Consequently, HN3 is a viabletherapeutic reagent for the treatment of liver cancer.

Example 2: HS20—a Human Monoclonal Antibody that Binds the HeparanSulfate Chains on GPC3 and Inhibits Hepatocellular Carcinoma CellMigration

This example describes the generation and characterization of a humanmAb that binds heparin sulfate on GPC3.

A. Materials and Methods Cell Lines

A panel of six human HCC cell lines (SK-Hep1, HepG2, Hep3B, Huh-1,Huh-4, and Huh-7) was obtained from the National Cancer Institute (NCI)Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis, Bethesda, Md. A431 (human epithelialcarcinoma cell line) was obtained from American Type Culture Collection(ATCC; Manassas, Va.). The cell lines were cultured in RPMI or DMEMsupplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum, 100 U/mL penicillin, 0.1 mg/mLstreptomycin, and 2 mmol/L L-glutamine. Cells were harvested and themedia was changed twice a week. Cells were confirmed to be negative formycoplasma.

Generation of a Human Cell Stably Expressing GPC3

A431 cells were transfected with the pReceiver vector containing afull-length GPC3 cDNA (Genecopia, Rockville, Md.) using LIPOFECTAMINE™2000 (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, Calif.). Cell line G1, which highlyexpresses GPC3, was obtained by single cell sorting with a FACSVantageSE (BD Biosciences, San Jose, Calif.). Briefly, the GPC3 cDNA wastransfected into A431 cells. After 3 days, the GPC3 harboring cells wereselected by neomycin for 10 days. In a standard protocol for flowcytometric analysis, neomycin-selected cells were incubated with 1 μg/mlof a mouse anti-GPC3 antibody (IG12) (Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Inc.Santa Cruz, Calif.) in DMEM. After incubation for 1 hour at 4° C., thecells were washed once with DMEM and incubated with 1:200 dilution ofPE-labeled goat anti-mouse IgG (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, Calif.) for 1hour. After washing twice, the cells were suspended in 0.5 ml of DMEM,and the top 0.1% GPC3-positive cells were sorted and individual cellswere growth in separate wells. The G1 clone had the highest GPC3 proteinexpression on the cell surface.

Production of Recombinant Human GPC3 Proteins

Four different kinds of recombinant GPC3 were made in various mammaliancells, including HEK-293T, HEK-293F and CHO cells. Primers for rabbit Fc(rFc)-GPC3-his were designed to incorporate flanking EcoRI and NotIrestriction enzyme sites to facilitate in-frame cloning into a modifiedpSecTag2 vector (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, Calif.). Constructs contained anIg-κ leader sequence followed by the rabbit IgG Fc and the full-lengthsequence of the extracellular domain of human GPC3 and a His6 tag. Thehuman GPC3 with His tag (named GPC3-his) and two human Fc fusion clones(GPC3-hFc and GPC3(AA)-hFc) were constructed in the pVRC vectorcontaining the IL-2 signal sequence at the N-terminus. GPC3-hFc (AA) wasa mutant without the HS chains by replacement of Ser495 and Ser509 withAlanine. The plasmids for rFc-GPC3 and GPC3-his were produced in CHO andHEK-293T cells, respectively. GPC3-hFc and GPC3-hFc (AA) were made inHEK-293F cells. The proteins were harvested from the culture supernatantand purified with a Nickel column (GE Healthcare, Piscataway, N.J.).GPC3-hFc and GPC3(AA)-hFc were purified with a protein A column. Thepurified recombinant GPC3 proteins were analyzed with ELISA using the1G12 mouse anti-GPC3 antibody.

Selection of Phage Antibodies

The Tomlinson I and J phage display libraries (Genservice Ltd.,Cambridge, UK) used in this study have the size of 1×10⁸ diversity (deWildt et al., Nat Biotechnol 18(9):989-994, 2000). Phage were subjectedto three rounds of panning on Nunc immuno plate (Maxisorp, Thermo FisherScientific, Rochester, N.Y.) according to an established protocol. Thephage display libraries are based on a single human framework for VH(V3-23/DP-47 and JH4b) and Vκ (012/02/DPK9 and Jκ1) with side chaindiversity (NNK encoded) incorporated in complementary determiningregions (CDRs) 2 and 3 at positions in the antigen binding site thatmake contacts antigen in known structures and are highly diverse in themature repertoire (18 different amino acid). An immuno plate (Maxisorb,Nunc/Thermo Fisher Scientific, Rochester, N.Y.) was coated with theGPC3-his protein overnight at 4° C. using 100 μl of 100 μg/ml protein inphosphate buffered saline (PBS) (10 mM phosphate/150 mM NaCl, pH 7.4)for three rounds of panning. The plate was blocked with 3% skimmed milkin PBS (MPBS) for 1 hour at room temperature and 10¹² cfu of phage werepre-blocked by 3% skimmed milk in PBS for 1 hour at room temperaturebefore adding into the immune plate. After 2 hours of incubation at roomtemperature, the unbound bound phage were removed using 10 washes withPBS/0.1% Tween-20 and 10 washes with PBS. The specifically bound phagewere eluted two times with 120 μl elution buffer (100 mM HCl, adjustedto pH 2.2 with solid glycine and containing 0.1% BSA) for 5 minutes atroom temperature. The eluted phage were combined, neutralized with 200μl of 1M Tris (pH 8.0), and used to infect freshly prepared 5 ml of E.coli TG1 cells. The phage were amplified and rescued for the next roundof panning. The eluted phages obtained from each round of panning wereused for tittering for consideration of enrichment.

Phage ELISA

Phage binding was characterized at the end of each round of panning aspopulations (“polyclonal phage ELISA”) and individual clones(“monoclonal phage-ELISA”). Ninety-six randomly picked phage clones atthe end of each round of panning were analyzed for GPC3 binding. AMaxiSorp 96-well plate was coated with 50 μl/well of 1 μg/ml ofrecombinant GPC3 overnight at 4° C. Wells were washed 3 times with PBSand blocked with MPBS for 1 hour at 37° C. Samples (50 μl/well) werepre-incubated with 6% MPBS equal volume of MPBS, and the plate wasincubated for 1 hour at room temperature. After washing 3 times withPBS-T, 100 μl of anti-M13-HRP (1:5000 dilution; GE Healthcare,Piscataway, N.J.) was added to each well, and the plate was incubatedfor 1 hour at room temperature. After washing 3 times with PBS-T, 50μl/well 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine detection reagent (KPL,Gaithersburg, Md.) was added, and the plate was incubated for 10 minutesat room temperature and absorbance was read at 450 nm with a SPECTRAMAX™Plus plate reader (Molecular Devices, Sunnyvale, Calif.).

Sequence Analysis

For analysis of Ig variable region, phagemid clones were sequenced usingprimers VH-R for heavy chain (CGACCCGCCACCGCCGCTG; SEQ ID NO: 21) andVk-R for light chain (CTATGCGGCCCCATTCA; SEQ ID NO: 22). CDR3 wasdetermined by comparison with human Ig genes using IMGT/V-QUEST in theInternational Immunogenetics Database.

Construction of the HS Human IgG

PCR Primers for heavy chain (VH) were used by flanking EcoRI containedIL-8 signal sequence and NheI restriction enzyme sites. The PCR productwas inserted at the EcoRI and NheI sites of the expression vectorpFUSE-CHIg-HG1 (Invivogen, San Diego, Calif.) and named pMH144. The VLregion was PCR amplified using the forward primer contained IL-8 signalsequence and AgeI restriction enzyme site and reverse primer containedNcoI restriction enzyme site. The PCR product was inserted into the AgeIand NcoI sites in the expression vector pFUSE2-CLIg-hk (Invivogen, SanDiego, Calif.) and named pMH145. Using LIPOFECTAMINE™ 2000, the plasmidswere co-transfected transiently into HEK-293T cells (Invitrogen,Carlsbad, Calif.) in DMEM and the supernatant was changed to FreeStyleserum-free medium (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, Calif.) to eliminate bovine IgGin the purification step. After three days, the medium was collectedafter centrifugation, replaced for an additional 3-4 days, and collectedagain. Pooled supernatants were then processed and antibody was purifiedusing a 1-mL recombinant Protein A Hi-Trap column (GE Healthcare,Piscataway, N.J.). The quality and quantity of purified IgG1 wasdetermined by SDS-PAGE and A280 absorbance on a NANODROP™spectrophotometer (Thermo Scientific/Nanodrop, Wilmington, Del.). TheHS20 IgG was analyzed by ELISA on GPC3-his.

Western Blot Assay

Reactivity of HS20 to GPC3 was assessed by immunoblotting. The celllysates of G1, A431 and HepG2 cells were loaded into 4-20% SDS-PAGE gelsfor electrophoresis. Proteins were transferred to Hybond-P PDVF membrane(GE Healthcare, Piscataway, N.J.). The membrane was blocked with 5% skimmilk in PBS-T for 1 hour at room temperature and washed 4 times withPBS-T. After blocking the PVDF membrane, the membrane was incubated withHS20 (1 μg/ml) for 2 hours at room temperature. The membrane was washed4 times with PBS-T and incubated with 1:5000 diluted HRP-conjugatedanti-human IgG for 2 hours. Signals were visualized by using theEnhanced Chemiluminescence Kit (GE Healthcare, Piscataway, N.J.).

Flow Cytometry

To determine binding of HS20 to cell surface-associated GPC3 proteins,cancer cells (G1, A431 and HepG2 cells) were incubated with HS20 influorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) buffer (5% BSA, 0.01% NaN3)for 1 hour on ice. Bound antibodies were detected by incubating with a1:200 dilution of goat anti-human IgG-PE (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, Calif.)secondary antibody in FACS buffer for 0.5 hour on ice. Cells wereanalyzed using FACSCalibur (BD Biosciences).

Immunohistochemistry

Formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissue blocks from 10 patients withhepatic cancer were retrieved from the files of the Armed ForcesInstitute of Pathology. Consecutive sections at 5-7 μm thickness wereprepared and placed on positively charged slides. Sections weredeparaffinized with three-changes of xylene, and washed with descendingconcentrations of alcohol and water, and subjected to antigen retrievalfollowing a previously published protocol (Man and Tavassoli, ApplImmunohistochem 4:139-141, 1996). Immunostaining was carried out aspreviously described (Hsiao et al., J Cancer 1:93-97, 2010) with HN3,HS20 and an isotype control human IgG (Southern Biotech, Birmingham,Ala.). The secondary antibody conjugated with peroxidase,diaminobenzidine and 3-amino-9-ethylcarbazole chromogen kits wereobtained from Vector Laboratories (Burlingame, Calif.). To assess thespecificity of the immunostaining, different negative controls wereused, including the substitution of the primary antibody with the sameisotype or pre-immune serum of the antibody, and omission of thesecondary antibody. In addition, the immunostaining procedure wasrepeated at least twice using the same protocol and under the sameconditions. Immunostained sections were independently evaluated by twoinvestigators. A given cell was considered immunoreactive if distinctimmunoreactivity was consistently seen in its cytoplasm, membrane, ornucleus, while all negative controls lacked distinct immunostaining.

Cell Morphology and Migration

Cell migration was assessed by wound healing scratch assay and cultureinsert. Hep3B cells were seeded in wells of a 24-well plate and grown to100% confluence. A wound was created in the cell monolayer in each wellusing a sterile P200 micropipette tip. The wells were then washed with 1ml of growth medium, which was removed and replaced with 0.5 ml ofgrowth medium with various concentration of IgG-20. After 24 hoursincubation at 37° C. in a 5% CO₂ incubator, each scratch was examinedand photographed. For the time course of migration assay, an ibidiculture insert (Applied BioPhysics, Troy, N.Y.) was used in 24-wellplates. After growth of cells to 100% confluence, the culture insert wasremoved and the plate was filled with 0.5 ml of growth media containedHS20 (50 μg/ml). The first image of each scratch was acquired at timezero through a phase contrast microscope at 10× magnification. The24-well plates were then incubated at 37° C., 5% CO₂ for 48 hours andscratches at each time point were examined and photographed at the samelocation. The images were analyzed using the Tscratch program.

Statistics

The GraphPad Prism program (Graphpad software, San Diego, Calif.) wasused to statistically analyze the results. Cell migrations were analyzedby one way analysis of variance with Dunnett's and Newman-Keuls multiplecomparison post tests. P-values<0.05 were considered statisticallysignificant.

B. Results Isolation of the HS20 Fv

To generate mAbs to GPC3, several recombinant proteins were made inmammalian cells. First, a rabbit IgG Fc-GPC3 fusion protein (rFc-GPC3)was made in CHO cells. Second, GPC3 with a six-histidine tag (GPC3) wasexpressed in human HEK-293 cells. Third, GPC3-huFc and GPC3(AA)-huFc,two human Fc fusion proteins, were produced in HEK-293 cells.GPC3(AA)-huFc does not contain the HS chains because two serine residues(Ser495 and Ser509) are replaced with two alanine residues. Allrecombinant proteins were validated by SDS-PAGE followed by Western blotand ELISA using a commercially available mouse anti-GPC3 mAb (clone1G12) (FIG. 8). Human scFv phage display libraries were screened against100 μg/mL of recombinant GPC3 coated on MaxiSorp 96-well plates for 3rounds of panning. After the first round of phage panning, about 4000individual phage clones were obtained. Polyclonal ELISA of the boundphage was used to monitor the enrichment of high binders after eachpanning step (FIG. 9A). The gradual enrichment of phage suggests that asmall number of high affinity binders existed in the primary libraries Iand J and were gradually enriched during the process of panning. At theend of the third round, more than 50% of clones randomly selected wereGPC3 binders (FIG. 9B). The clone 20 (named HS20) was chosen for furthercharacterization because it bound all the recombinant GPC3 proteins withstrong signals.

Sequence analysis of HS20 showed somatic mutations in heavy (H) chainand light (L) chain CDRs, particularly in HCDR2, HCDR3 and LCDR3 andLCDR3. It may indicate that the key residues for the antigen binding aremostly located in CDR2 and CDR3 in heavy and light chains. Since the Fvwas isolated from a synthetic library (de Wildt et al., Nat Biotechnol18(9):989-994, 2000), somatic mutations were not found in the frameworkregions, outside the CDRs.

After a search of all of the known public databases, it was confirmedthat HS20 has a unique Fv sequence. The VH sequence is the closest tothe two known VH sequences with known specificities: ABQ50854.1 (apeptide mimotope of the group B Streptococcus type III polysaccharide)and ADP21081.1 (canine dendritic cells). The VL sequence is closest toABD59019.1 (TREM-like transcript-1) and ABQ50855.1 (a peptide mimotopeof the group B Streptococcus type III polysaccharide). The Fv of HS20 isthe most homologous to the Fv known to bind a polysaccharide onStreptococcus, which suggested that the HS20 epitope is associated witha carbohydrate site.

Binding Properties of HS20 on Cancer Cells

To characterize the binding properties of HS20, the HS20 Fv wasconverted into a human IgG. A human IgG molecule was constructed byfusing the VH with the constant region of heavy chain γ1 and the VL withthe constant region of human κ chain. The final human IgG molecule isIgGγ1κ. The cell lysates of A431 (GPC3-), G1 (GPC3+), and a panel ofhuman HCC cell lines (HepG2, Huh-1, Huh-4 and Huh-7) was probed bywestern blot using the HS20 IgG (FIG. 11A). G1 is the A431 stable linethat highly expressing GPC3 on the cell surface. HS20 bound G1 with muchstronger signals than A431. The bands in G1 recognized by HS20 formed alarge smear, indicating possible heterogeneity of glycosylationpatterns. Binding of HS20 was also detected on HepG2, Hep3B and Huh-4,but not Huh-1 and Huh-7. To determine whether HS20 binds cellsurface-associated GPC3, flow cytometric analysis was performed (FIG.10B). HS20 bound G1 and the HepG2 cell line with strong signals. HS20had relatively weak signals on A431 cells, indicating the bindingsignals were associated with the GPC3 protein expression at the cellsurface.

To further analyze the binding HS20 on HCC tissues, immunohistochemistrywas performed on tumor specimens (FIG. 12). HS20 had a strong and highlyspecific immunostaining on the plasma membrane of HCC cells but nostaining on GPC3-negative cells such as stroma cells.

HS20 Binds a HS Site on GPC3 with Subnanomolar Affinity

To reveal the binding site of HS20 on GPC3, an ELISA was performed usingrecombinant GPC3-hFc and mutant GPC3(AA)-hFc (FIG. 13A). The controlGPC3 mAb (1G12) bound all recombinant GPC3 proteins, which is consistentwith the fact that 1G12 bound the C terminal core protein of GPC3(Capurro et al., Gastroenterology 125:89-97, 2003). HS20 bound GPC3-hFcbut not mutant GPC3(AA)-hFc, indicating that HS20 binds to a HS site onGPC3. The binding of HS20 on recombinant GPC3 protein was also comparedwith binding on HS molecules. HS20 bound at least 1000-fold stronger onGPC3-associated HS than HS alone. This result indicates that HS20 bindsHS and such binding may be enhanced by the core protein of GPC3. Basedon the ELISA results (FIG. 13B), the binding affinity (equilibriumK_(D)) of HS20 for GPC3 was estimated to be 0.75 nM. The data setsexhibited a strong correlation (R2=0.997).

It was also determined that the binding of HS20 wasconfirmation-dependent. The HS20 human antibody did not bind denaturedGPC3 on Western blot using cell lysates; however, it was possible topull down endogenous GPC3 proteins from G1 cells by HS20 (FIG. 13C). Asimilar result was also observed in Hep3B cells, a native HCC cell line.It was found that no significant GPC3 protein could be pulled down fromGPC3 knock-down Hep3B cells (FIG. 13C, right).

Heparan sulfate belongs to the glycosaminoglycan family and has highlyclosely related structure to heparin. They both have sulfated repeatingdisaccharide units. However, recent studies show that the structure ofheparan sulfate is very different from heparin. To evaluate the bindingproperties of HS20, competition ELISA experiments were performed. HS20was pre-incubated with heparan sulfate (HS) or heparin and it was foundthat only HS was able to block the HS20-GPC3 binding (FIG. 13D).Collectively, it is believed that the HS20 human antibody (i) dominantlybinds the HS chains on GPC3; (ii) excess amounts of heparin molecules orenzymatic digestion of heparinase cannot abolish the binding of the HS20mAb to GPC3 and (iii) the core protein of GPC3 may play a role insupporting or stabilizing a distinct conformation recognized by the HS20mAb.

HS20 Inhibits HCC Cell Migration by Disturbing the GPC3 and Wnt3aInteraction

To determine whether HS20 can neutralize the function of GPC3, HCC cellswere treated with the HS20 mAb and the HS20 mAb was tested in cellproliferation and cell migration assays. The HS20 human mAb did notinhibit HCC cell proliferation in vitro. However, the cell migrationability of HCC cells was significantly reduced after HS20 treatment.Wound-healing assay indicated that both Hep3B cells and Huh-4 cellsshowed slower migration, especially 48 hours after HS20 treatment (FIG.14A). Whereas the migration ability of SK-hep1, which was the GPC3negative cell line, did not change. The inhibition showed adose-dependent manner (FIG. 4B left) and significant inhibition wasfound after 6 hours at 50 μg/ml of HS20. The wound closure efficiency ofHS20-treated cells was decreased by more than 30% as compared to thecontrol group (FIG. 4B right).

Wnt signaling has been suggested to play an important role in HCCprogression. Previous studies show that Wnt3a may be involved in HCCpathogenesis. GPC3 might work as the storage site for Wnt ligand andmake it accessible to its receptor Frizzle. Hep3B cells were treatedwith the HS20 human mAb and then the interaction of GPC3 and Wnt3a wasexamined. HS20 blocked the interaction of Wnt3a and GPC3 (FIG. 4C),suggesting that HS20 might block the Wnt signaling by disrupting theinteraction of GPC3 and Wnt3a. To further evaluate downstream effects ofWnt signaling, the Wnt targeting genes were evaluated by RT-PCR. Theexpression of many genes related to cell metastasis or migrationdecreased whereas those related to cell growth did not changesignificantly. It was notable that after HS20 treatment, β-cateninexpression decreased at both the mRNA level and protein levels (FIGS. 4Dand 4E). Taken together, these data indicate that HS20 binding to GPC3inhibits Wnt signaling, leading to the degradation of β-catenin andfinally to the inhibition of HCC cell migration.

C. Discussion

Metastasis resistant to therapy is the major cause of death from cancer.Despite almost 200 years of study, the process of tumor metastasisremains elusive. Stephen Paget initially proposed the “seed and soil”hypothesis which has been supported by numerous experimental reports(Paget, Lancet 133:571-573, 1889; Talmadge and Fidler, Cancer Res70(14):5649-5669, 2010). Recent studies have provided the evidence thatheparan sulfates play important roles in regulating cell migration inmelanoma (Balijinnyam et al., Am J Physiol Cell Physiol297(4):C802-C813, 2009) and breast cancer (Khurana et al., Cancer Res71(6):2152-2161, 2011). In the present study, a human mAb specific forthe HS site on GPC3 was developed and this antibody was found to inhibitHCC cell migration.

Cell movement is important pathologically in wound healing and cancermetastasis. In order for these processes to occur, the extracellularmatrix (ECM) must be degraded to allow for the free movement of cells(Kim et al., J Endocrinol 209(2):139-151, 2011). These processes areaccomplished by proteases and the HS-degrading enzyme heparanase. Thepresent disclosure demonstrates that a drug targeting the HS chain onGPC3, a cancer-specific HSPG, can inhibit cancer cell migration.

Example 3: Mutation of HS20 to Remove an N-Glycosylation Site does notAlter Binding Affinity and Specificity

This example describes modification of the H220 mAb to remove anN-glycosylation site identified in the VL domain.

Two light chains bands were observed in the HS20 IgG expressed in theHEK-293-based mammalian expression system, suggesting the presence of anN-glycosylation site. By analyzing the sequence of the light chain, apotential N-glycosylation site was identified in CDR2 of the VL domainof HS20 (amino acid residue 50 of SEQ ID NO: 16). The presence of theN-glycosylation site produced an extra band of approximately 30 kDa whenanalyzed by SDS-PAGE; however, a single band was observed when thepurified HS20 IgG was treated with the endoglycosidase PNGase to removeall N-glycosylation (FIG. 15A). A Western blot of H250 mAb treated withPNGase also demonstrated a single VL band, while untreated antibodyresulted in two bands for the VL domain (FIG. 15B).

To remove the N-glycosylation site, an asparagine (N) residue in CDR2 ofthe VL domain was changed to an alanine (A) residue (FIG. 15C). Themodified version of HS20 is referred to as “HS20 Mt.” The mutated formof HS20 does not exhibit altered binding specificity or affinity to theheparan sulfate chains on GPC3 (FIGS. 16A-16C).

The nucleotide and amino acid sequences of the modified HS20 VL domainare set forth in the sequence listing as SEQ ID NOs: 28 and 29,respectively.

Example 4: HS20 Inhibits HCC Tumor Growth In Vivo

To evaluate the HS20 human antibody as a therapeutic antibody candidate,a HCC xenograft model was established in nude mice and the anti-tumoractivity of the HS20 human antibody was tested. The study described inthis example used the mutated form of HS20 (SEQ ID NOs: 28-31), whichlacks the N-glycosylation site. HepG2 cells were inoculated into nudemice subcutaneously. As shown in FIG. 17A, the HS20 antibody inhibitstumor growth significantly. Using the xenograft tumor tissues, it wasshown that the interaction of GPC3 and Wnt3a was significantly decreasedafter HS20 treatment. After treating the mice for three weeks, theinteraction was blocked by 70% and even further for four weeks treatment(FIG. 17B). Downstream genes of Wnt signaling were also detected byRT-PCR. Several genes related to cell migration and metastasis, likeNr-CAM, Connexin30, MMP2 and MPP26 decreased significantly. However,those genes involved in cell proliferation did not change (FIG. 17C).These data were consistent with what was found using the in vitro cellmodels, and suggested that the HS20 human antibody was able to inhibitHCC tumor growth by blocking the interaction of GPC3 and Wnt3a via Wntsignaling.

Example 5: The HN3 Human Antibody Inhibits HCC Tumor Growth In Vivo

To investigate whether the HN3 human antibody can be used as a cancertherapeutic candidate, the in vivo efficacy of HN3 was investigated inmice. Huh7 cells were subcutaneously inoculated into nude mice. Afterthe tumor size reached about 100 mm³, the mice were treated byintravenous injection of HN3 at dose of 60 mg/kg, twice a week. Thetumor size was measured and compared with the control group. HN3treatment significantly inhibited HCC tumor growth in mice (FIG. 18A).

To confirm whether yap signaling also plays a role in HN3-treated HCCtumors in vivo, yap signaling changes were compared in HN3-treated anduntreated HCC tumors from mice (FIG. 18B). Yap was inactivated becauseof the increase of phosphorylated yap in HN3-treated tumors. Consistentwith in vitro data, the yap target gene, protein expression of cyclin D1was also decreased. These observations further supported that yapsignaling may mediate the inhibition of HCC cell proliferation by theHN3 human mAb.

Example 6: A Recombinant Immunotoxin Targeting Glypican-3 inHepatocellular Carcinoma

This example describes the generation of an antibody toxin fusionprotein targeting GPC3 on HCC cells. The heavy chain variable region(VH) of HN3 was linked to PE38, a modified form of Pseudomonas exotoxin.

Generation of HN3(VH)-PE38 Immunotoxin

To investigate the potential of HN3 as a novel antibody therapeutic forcancer therapy, the HN3 VH domain was converted into an anti-GPC3immunotoxin. As shown in FIG. 19, the HN3 VH was fused to PE38 (SEQ IDNO: 27), a truncated form of Pseudomonas exotoxin.

The HN3 immunotoxin was prepared by cloning the nucleotide sequence ofthe single domain (VH) HN3 antibody and the nucleotide sequence of thePseudomonas exotoxin 38 (PE38) into the pRB98 vector. The nucleotide andamino acid sequences of a portion of the immunotoxin that includes HN3,vector sequence (underlined) and the N-terminal portion of PE38 areshown below.

HN3-PE38 DNA Sequence  (SEQ ID NO: 28)CAGGTGCAGCTGGTGCAGTCTGGGGGAGGCTTGGTACAGCCTGGAGGGTCCCTGAGACTCTCCTGTGCAGCCTCTTATTTCGATTTCGATTCTTATGAAATGAGCTGGGTCCGCCAGGCTCCAGGGAAGGGCCTAGAGTGGATTGGGAGTATCTATCATAGTGGGAGCACCTACTACAACCCGTCCCTCAAGAGTCGAGTCACCATCTCCAGAGACAATTCCAAGAACACGCTGTATCTGCAAATGAACACCCTGAGAGCCGAGGACACAGCCACGTATTACTGTGCGAGAGTAAATATGGACCGATTTGACTACTGGGGCCAGGGAACCCTGGTCACCGTCTCCTCAAGTGCGGCCAAAGCTTCCGGAGGTCCCGAGGGCGGCAGCCTGGCCGCGCTGACCGCGCACCAGGCTTGCCACCTGCCGCTGGAGACTTTCACCCGTCATCGCCAGCCGCGCGGCTGGGAACAACTGGAGCAGTGCGGCTATCCGGTGCAGCGGCTGGTCGCCCTCTACCTGGCGGCGCGGCTGTCGTGGAACCAGGTCGACCAGGTGATCCGCAACGCCCTGGCCAGCCCCGGCAGCGGCGGCGACCTGGGCGAAGCGATCCGCGAGCAGCCGGAGCAAGCCCGTCTGGCCCTGACCCTGGCCGCCGCCGAGAGCGAGCGCTTCGTCCGGCAGGGCACCGGCAACGACGAGGCCGGCGCGGCCAACGGCCCGGCGGACAGCGGCGACGCC Nucleotides 1-351 =HN3 DNA sequence Nucleotides 352-378 (underlined) = vector sequenceNucleotides 379-738 = partial PE38 sequence HN3-PE38 Protein Sequence (SEQ ID NO: 29) QVQLVQSGGGLVQPGGSLRLSCAASYFDFDSYEMSWVRQAPGKGLEWIGSIYHSGSTYYNPSLKSRVTISRDNSKNTLYLQMNTLRAEDTATYYCARVNMDRFDYWGQGTLVTVSSSAAKASGGPEGGSLAALTAHQACHLPLETFTRHRQPRGWEQLEQCGYPVQRLVALYLAARLSWNQVDQVIRNALASPGSGGDLGEAIREQPEQARLALTLAAAESERFVRQGTGNDEAGAANGPADSGDAP Residues 1-117 =HN3 sequence Residues 118-126 (underlined) = derived from the vector sequence Residues 127-246 = partial PE38 sequence

The purity of the immunotoxin was above 90%, and the correct molecularweight (53 kDa) was confirmed by SDS-PAGE. The immunotoxin was expressedin Escherichia coli, refolded in vitro, and purified to ˜95% purity witha high yield of >15%. To evaluate potential aggregation of theimmunotoxin, the purified protein was run on a TSK size exclusion column(FIG. 19B). A distinct peak was found, indicating that the purifiedHN3(VH)-PE38 molecules as monomers were correctly folded.

Cytotoxicity of HN3(VH)-PE38 Immunotoxin Against HCC Cell Lines

To assess the cell killing of GPC3-expressing cancer cells by theHN3(VH)-PE38 immunotoxin, the inhibition of cell proliferation wasexamined on a panel of six HCC cell lines (Hep3B, Huh-1, HepG2, Huh-4,Huh-7 and SK-Hep-1) by WST assay (FIG. 20 and Table 4). The HN3(VH)-PE38immunotoxin had very high and specific cytotoxic activity against the G1cell line with forced expression of GPC3 (IC₅₀=0.01 ng/ml or 0.2 pM),but had no activity on the human A431 epidermoid carcinoma cell linewith no GPC3 expression. In Hep3B and Huh-1, the three HCC cell lineswith the highest GPC3 expression on the cell surface (>10⁴ sites/cell),HN3(VH)-PE38 was very active with IC₅₀ of 0.02 ng/mL or 0.4 pM for Hep3B(3.5×10⁴ sites per cell), IC₅₀ of 0.06 ng/ml or 1.2 pM for Huh-1 (1×10⁴sites per cell) and IC₅₀ of 64 ng/mL or 1.3 nM for Huh-7 (1.2×10⁴sites/cell). In the HepG2 cell line with low GPC3 expression (2.5×10³sites/cell), lower but significant cytotoxic activity (IC₅₀=549 ng/mL or10 nM) was observed. The HN3(VH)-PE38 can't kill the Huh-4 and SK-Hep-1cell lines because the data (flow cytometry, RT-PCR and Western blot)show that these two lines do not express GPC3. A recent study indicatedthat SK-HEP-1 was not a HCC cell line because it did not have propertiesof hepatocytes and was endothelial in origin. The cytotoxic activity ofHN3(VH)-PE38 was similar or better than the immunotoxins SS1P and BL22currently being evaluated in clinical trials for the treatment of otherhuman cancers such as mesothelioma, pancreatic cancer and B-cellleukemias. BL22, the control immunotoxin targeting CD22-expressingleukemias, was not cytotoxic to all the HCC cell lines tested.

TABLE 4 Cytotoxicity of the HN3(VH)-PE38 immunotoxin and GPC3 expressionin HCC cell lines GPC3 HN3(VH)-PE38 BL22 Cell line Tumor type sites/cell(ng/mL) (ng/mL) A431 Epidermoid Negative* >1000 >1000 carcinoma G1Forced expression 3.4 × 10⁵ 0.01 >1000 of GPC3 in A431 Hep3B HCC 3.5 ×10⁴ 0.02 >1000 Huh-1 HCC   1 × 10⁴ 0.06 >1000 Huh-7 HCC 1.2 × 10⁴64 >1000 HepG2 HCC 2.5 × 10³ 549 >1000 Huh-4 HCC   2 × 10³ >1000 >1000SK-Hep-1 Endothelial origin Negative* >1000 >1000 (formerly HCC)*Negativity was also confirmed by RT-PCR and Western blotCytotoxicity was measured by cell proliferation assays (WST-8). Briefly,cells were seeded at 5×10⁴/well in 96-well plate 12 h before the assay.Immunotoxins were added to the plate, and cells were incubated at 37° C.for 48-72 h and the cell viability measured with WST-8. Each assay wasdone in triplicate. IC₅₀ (mean values expressed in ng/ml) is the toxinconcentration that reduced cell viability by 50% compared with the cellsthat were not treated with the toxin. The results are represented asmeans±SD of triplicate determinations, and assays were repeated two orthree times. The number of GPC3 sites per cell was measured by flowcytometry using an anti-GPC3 mouse monoclonal antibody and BDQuantibrite PE beads.

Intravenous HN3(VH)-PE38 Immunotoxin Inhibits Tumor Growth

To explore HN3(VH)-PE38 as a potential cancer therapeutic, it wasexamined whether the anti-GPC3 immunotoxin caused tumor growthinhibition in tumor xenografts in mice. The G1 cell line was used as acell model to establish a tumor xenograft model in nude mice (FIG. 21).The number of GPC3 sites in the G1 line is comparable to that of HCCcells endogenously expressing GPC3 and their implantation in miceconsistently results in aggressive tumor growth. When tumors reached anaverage volume of 100 mm³ on day 7, mice were administered 0.4 mg/kg ofthe HN3(VH)-PE38 every other day for one week. The administration ofHN3(VH)-PE38 significantly inhibited the growth of the tumor in micesince day 12 (after three injections of the immunotoxin). Therefore, theHN3(VH)-PE38 as a single agent exhibited strong antitumor activityagainst GPC3-expressing tumor xenografts in vivo.

Taken together, these results show that an immunotoxin targeting cellsurface-associated GPC3 proteins in HCC has been successfully generated.The HN3(VH)-PE38 immunotoxin is cytotoxic against GPC3-expressing HCCcell lines but is not cytotoxic to target-negative cells. Furthermore,the immunotoxin exhibited significant tumor growth inhibition ofsubcutaneously transplanted GPC3-expressing tumor xenografts in nudemice, suggesting that the new immunotoxin holds potential as atherapeutic candidate for liver cancer therapy.

Example 7: GPC3-Specific Monoclonal Antibodies for Detecting Cancer in aSubject or Confirming the Diagnosis of Cancer in a Subject

This example describes the use of human monoclonal antibodies that bindGPC3 or HS chains on GPC3 for the detection of cancer in a subject. Thisexample further describes the use of these antibodies to confirm thediagnosis of cancer in a subject.

A sample (such as a biopsy) is obtained from the patient diagnosed with,or suspected of having a GPC3-positive cancer (i.e., a cancer thatexpresses or overexpresses GPC3, such as HCC, melanoma, lung cancer, orovarian cancer). A sample taken from a patient that does not have cancercan be used as a control. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is performed todetect the presence of GPC3-expressing cells in the sample. IHC are wellknown in the art. For example, a GPC3-specific antibody conjugated to afluorescent marker can be used to directly detect GPC3. An increase influorescence intensity of the patient sample, relative to the controlsample, detects the presence of GPC3-expressing cells in the sample.Detection of GPC3-positive cells in the sample indicates the patient hasa GPC3-positive cancer, or confirms diagnosis of cancer in the subject.

Example 8: GPC3-Specific Monoclonal Antibodies for the Treatment ofCancer

This example describes the use of GPC3-specific human monoclonalantibodies for the treatment of cancers that express or overexpressGPC3, such as HCC, melanoma, lung cancer, or ovarian cancer. Patientsdiagnosed with a GPC3-positive cancer can be treated according tostandard procedures in the art.

In this example, patients diagnosed with a GPC3-positive cancer areadministered an immunoconjugate comprising a GPC3-specific humanmonoclonal antibody linked to Pseudomonas exotoxin (PE). Preparation ofPE immunoconjugates is described in Example 6 and has been previouslydescribed in the art (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,081,518 and U.S.Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0214304). In some patients, theimmunoconjugate is administered by intravenous bolus injection everyother day for a total of three to six doses. In other patients, theimmunoconjugate is administered by continuous intravenous infusion overthe course of ten days. The dose of immunoconjugate administered to apatient varies depending on the weight and gender of the patient, andmode and time course of administration. Following treatment, patientsare evaluated for cancer progression (including tumor growth andmetastasis) and other clinical signs of illness.

In view of the many possible embodiments to which the principles of thedisclosed invention may be applied, it should be recognized that theillustrated embodiments are only preferred examples of the invention andshould not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention. Rather, thescope of the invention is defined by the following claims. We thereforeclaim as our invention all that comes within the scope and spirit ofthese claims.

1. An isolated human variable heavy (VH) domain monoclonal antibody thatbinds glypican-3 (GPC3), comprising the complementarity determiningregion (CDR) 1, CDR2 and CDR3 sequences of SEQ ID NO:
 2. 2. The human VHsingle-domain monoclonal antibody of claim 1, comprising residues 31-35,50-65 and 96-105 of SEQ ID NO:
 2. 3. The human VH single-domainmonoclonal antibody of claim 1, wherein the antibody is labelled.
 4. Thehuman VH single-domain monoclonal antibody of claim 3, wherein the labelis a fluorescence, enzymatic or radioactive label.
 5. A compositioncomprising a therapeutically effective amount of the human VHsingle-domain antibody of claim 1 in a pharmaceutically acceptablecarrier.
 6. An isolated immunoconjugate comprising the human VHsingle-domain monoclonal antibody of claim 1 and an effector molecule.7. The isolated immunoconjugate of claim 6, wherein the effectormolecule is a toxin.
 8. The isolated immunoconjugate of claim 7, whereinthe toxin is Pseudomonas exotoxin or a variant thereof.
 9. The isolatedimmunoconjugate of claim 8, wherein the toxin is PE38 comprising theamino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 27. 10. A composition comprising atherapeutically effective amount of the isolated immunoconjugate ofclaim 6 in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
 11. A method oftreating a subject with cancer, comprising selecting a subject with acancer that expresses GPC3 and administering to the subject atherapeutically effective amount of the composition of claim 5, therebytreating the cancer in the subject.
 12. The method of claim 11, whereinthe cancer is a liver cancer, melanoma, lung cancer or ovarian cancer.13. The method of claim 12, wherein the liver cancer is hepatocellularcarcinoma (HCC) or hepatoblastoma.
 14. A method of inhibiting tumorgrowth or metastasis, comprising selecting a subject with a cancer thatexpresses GPC3 and administering to the subject a therapeuticallyeffective amount of the composition of claim 5, thereby inhibiting tumorgrowth or metastasis.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the cancer isa liver cancer, melanoma, lung cancer or ovarian cancer.
 16. The methodof claim 15, wherein the liver cancer is HCC or hepatoblastoma.
 17. Amethod of detecting GPC3 in a tissue sample, comprising: contacting thesample with the human VH single-domain monoclonal antibody of claim 1;and detecting binding of the antibody to the sample, wherein an increasein binding of the antibody to the sample as compared to binding of theantibody to a control sample detects GPC3 in the tissue sample.
 18. Anisolated nucleic acid molecule encoding the human VH single-domainmonoclonal antibody of claim
 1. 19. The isolated nucleic acid moleculeof claim 18, operably linked to a promoter.
 20. An expression vectorcomprising the isolated nucleic acid molecule of claim
 19. 21. Anisolated host cell transformed with the expression vector of claim 20.